“‘Linkages,’ ‘relationships,’ and ‘spider’s webs’ are some of the configurations taken by nerve information networks. Thus it appears that synaptic fissures are certainly gaps, but they are gaps that are able to form or take shape. That’s it, in fact: traces take form. It is striking to note that neuronal plasticity – in other words, the ability of synapses to modify their effectiveness as a result of experience – is a part of genetic indetermination. We can therefore make the claim that plasticity forms where DNA no longer writes.” (Catherine Malabou, trans. Carolyn Shread, Plasticity At The Dusk Of Writing, Columbia University Press, New York, 2010, 60)
This is an essay for a catalogue that accompanied the exhibition titled Body Writing; a solo exhibition of photographic images by Brianna Speight. It was shown at ‘The Floating Goose Studios’, in Adelaide, South Australia, April 5 – 28, 2019
I’m a writer, artist, curator who lives in regional South Australia. I presently hold an Adjunct position at the University of South Australia, where I taught for many years. My writing has engaged with the contemporary visual arts for almost forty years; I’ve also been published in literary and academic research journals. I co-founded the Electronic Writing Research Ensemble, an online site (ensemble.va.com.au).
I understood the way I was writing when I first read Marguerite Duras. Before that, I had no reference points. I also discovered the language writers of North America: Nicole Brossard, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Lyn Hejinian, and others. I’m also a fan of Blanchot, Barthes, Derrida, and Jullien (and others). Writing spreads out, sites are endless.
All writing by Marguerite Duras, Hélène Cixous, Clarice Lispector.
