27 Dec 2023
Cerys
Thomas-Ford
Full Moon
Jan 11th
Dec 12th
Utopia
After Virginia Overton’s Untitled (chime for Caro),
a found poem using words by Paul Dobraszczyk
from his magazine article, Treehouse Utopia
Witness:
An alternative world of fantasy structures,
improbable functions
and bizarre accoutrements
I.
Romantic desire – a child’s imagination,
a skyward fantasy
II.
Intense vulnerability – a children’s pastime,
keys played then lashed freely
III.
Party & Protest – a powerful tool
against barriers, against destruction
IV.
Utopian striving – a potent incubator
of new possibilities
Behind the poem...
This poem was born of works by an artist and a writer. Virginia Overton’s sculpture Untitled (chime for Caro) used offcuts and objects from the work of Sir Anthony Caro and others. To these finds, she added a series aluminium pipes: each weighed meticulously, then suspended from an industrial gantry. Setting her piece in a space topped with whitewood and cedar, Overton created an interactive sound sculpture visitors were free to play with. I watched as some of them did. On my way home, I bought a copy of Dope Magazine. It was here, in Paul Dobraszczyk’s article, Treetop Utopia, that my poem found its words.