a know yu can plant lettice & nice but yu
cyaaann eat ikebana
Yet a settin dung here in front a dis stone
face
eeee
lectrical mallet into me
fist
chipp/in dis poem onta dis tab.
let
chiss. ellin. dark.
ness writin in light
like i is a some. is a some. is a some
body.
This painting provides new insight into the mother character in Braithwaite’s poem, it gives her form and presence. In the poem, the readers only see one side of the conversation between Caliban and Sycorax (or SycoraX). In this painting, the viewers can see both. By giving form to the mother character, the painting strips her of some of her ephemeral nature. It projects her outside the computer screen and into the solid world, which takes away some of the purposeful and pointed confusion Brathwaite’s poem encourages. However, her visible presence in the painting lends credibility to Caliban’s belief that he is speaking to his mother, and gives her more power, in the form of involvement and presence, than she has in either The Temptest or SycoraX originally. Furthermore, it places SycoraX firmly in a world where the sprites called upon by Prospero seem plausible. It could even be imagined that the spirits, or ghosts in the case of Caliban’s mother, have adapted to the modern world, and now dwell in computers, waiting to have a conversation with someone writing in light.