Yanique Norman
ART
Impure Whiteness of Noon
I'm Tired of Talking About Myself
Hemings Script
Basic Premise of Script:
This poetic text, played as a sound installation accompaniment to the installation Impure Whiteness of Noon, is an extraordinary attempt to give an actual voice to Sally Hemings, which is rarely ever afforded to her. The audio piece is composed of original poetry I wrote and is an attempt to flesh out Hemings’s emotional self by presenting a deeply complicated and conflicted woman.
Technical Considerations:
Patio sounds are constantly heard in the background while the poem is read in long intervals.
Each poetic text (via line) is layered one on top of one another to create an aural palimpsest piece.
At the conclusion of the text, words turn completely illegible.
Background Noise:
Ahuu dat red gyal deh?
A weh shi cum fram?
How shi su foofool so?
Everyweh shi tun makka juk her up
Shi cyaah duh nutten right
Jeezam
Line 1:
most days I’m left here broken
Line 2:
you circling
me circling
we up and down circling
zigzagging circling
running backwards circling
leaning forwards circling
jumping sideways circling
Line 3:
all i know
is to sit and wait
cause i gotta wait
my ancestors wait
my mother wait
my sister wait
my auntie wait
my cousin wait
they all waited for it to find them
so I’ll wait for it to eventually find me too
Line 4:
i am convinced that love will never find me poor me, poor me, poor little ol’ me
me no see
no see how
me no see when
poor me, poor me, poor little ol’ me
love keep slippin’ and slindin’
love keep fallin’ and drownin’
in holes that are too long
too tall
too wide
love is a heartless thing
poor me, poor me, poor little ol’ me
Line 5:
I want to be more than just happy
i want to be happy happy
a happy that is eternally sunny
a happy that doesn’t involve tears
all I want is to be happy
Line 6:
you have devoured me, you
have infected me, you
have left me, you
have me smoking these marys, you
have me twerking, you
have me prowling, you
have me forgetting, you
have me breaking, you
have me screaming, you
you
you
you
it’s you why everything done gone wrong it’s you why I can’t get up
you did this
you did this
it’s you who did this
Line 7:
he reached the end
me beginning
he sprints
me crawling
he stands
me tumbling
he surfs
me drowning
he’s attentive
me snoozing
he’s together
me scattering
he’s an intellect
me a dummy
he’s righteous
me sinning
he’s working
count on me coveting
he’s gifted
me a fool
he’s winning
me losing
he leads
see me follow
he speaks
hear me listen
he teaches
i promise to learn
just try looking past my present
just try looking only at the future
give me a chance sugar
please, please, please
pretty please
Line 8:
rosy cheeked yet all blued
doe-eyed yet all blued
neck lolling
shoulders slouching
emotions clotting
congealing a myriad tone of blues
sandy blue
orangey blue
yellowish blue
purplish green blue
chocolatey amber blue
why don’t you build a life with me
i’ll murder every one last of them unruly blues I’ll do it—I’ll truly do
Line 9:
my womb is empty
my womb is bended
my womb is fractured
my womb is punctured
my womb is scattered
my womb is sprayed
my womb is colorless
my womb is soulless
my womb is voiceless
my womb is homeless
my womb is brown
my womb is overgrown
my womb is bitter
my womb is fritter
my womb is envious
my womb is grey
my womb is prey
my womb is regularly caned
my womb is shaped like a horseshoe
Line 10:
run run run run run run run run
for your life
run run run run run run run run run
for your freedom
run run run run run run run run run
from worry
run run run run run run run run run
from treachery
run run run run run run run run run
from fuckery
run run run run run run run run run
from pain
run run run run run run run run run
from sure heartbreak
run run run run run run run run run
Line 11:
until the second before, what did it matter to me—you
until the minute before, what did it matter to me—you until the hour before, what did it matter to me—you
until the day before, what did it matter to me—you
until the weeks before, what did it matter to me—you
until the months before, what did it matter to me—you until
the years before, what did it matter to me in this place until now—home is the only thing that matters to me and you
Line 12:
i have entered truth without accuracy
i have entered alpha without an omega
i have entered jesus without crucifixion
i have entered life without conception
i have entered destiny without a future
i have entered color without light
i have entered night without day
i have entered fish without possessing a sea
i have entered rain without a single cloud
i have entered arks without Noah
i have entered earth without heaven
i have entered hell without the devil
i have entered humanity without asking permission
i am one of a kind
what am i you may ask?
a negress
Yanique Norman has been the recipient of the Artadia Awards (Atlanta, 2020), National Museum of Women in the Arts of Georgia Artist Relief Grant (2020), Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant (2019), Susan Antinori Visual Artist Grant (2019), Columbus State University Visiting Artist and Scholars Residency (2019), and the Hughley Artist Fellowship (2016). Norman has exhibited throughout the United States and is participating in the forthcoming 2021 Atlanta Biennial at the Atlanta Contemporary.
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