HOSPES

By Stephanie J Williams

Root of “guest” and “stranger”, Hospes presents duality in subtexts of how we identify. Black. Asian. Queer. Female tells them how to treat me. Called “racially ambiguous” asked “what are you?” demanding that I name my meat, the thing most visible, a body is illustrated as an amalgam of multi-layered meaty mismatched, unnamable body pieces, stitched and tucked together with remnant material. Flayed from a containment of skin, protuberances bouncing, meaty pieces performing a choreography of resistance are scaffolded by articulated supports in a low-lit unconfined space revealed as a corridor of opening and closing doors intent on separating and sorting the pieces.