Launch of Jessica MacCormack's The See

Studio Arts Assistant Professor Jessica MacCormack (ARTX) will launch her new book, The See, in March 2013.

MacCormack's interdisciplinary practice engages with the intersection of institutional violence and the socio-political reality of personal trauma.

When: Wednesday, March 13, 2013, from 7 to 9 p.m.
Where: Venu articule, 262 Fairmount Ave. W., Montreal

Admission is free of charge and all are welcome.

About The See:
A long time ago in a place where all was not understood, not a thing made sense and I was very much smaller than everyone else. Where landscapes disintegrate and bodies fragment, where the surface is shinier, a distressed narrator struggles to form a sense of self. If i were a dog... but i'm a fish.

Jessica MacCormack's surreal, lush imagery and fragmented text reflect a harrowing account of trauma. He lives in the Dream of a Fantasy and breaks off pieces for us. As terror and alienation wash up on every shore, the child's desire for belonging and human connection is undone by her critical eye, and an inability to accept that her perception of reality is unsound. All these awakenings are only small gasps of air sucked into the lungs. Then we go back under. Before the child drowns, the body transforms into creatures of the sea, while the Missing Ones still can't be found anywhere. When we have long ago fallen off the places that might have made sense, where there are many fish, many directions, we are led to ask what it might have looked like if anyone was looking. The author reveals a heart-wrenching portrayal of survival.