By Catherine Maticka
Lost,
Osmotic in the
Smoke machine vapour.
Kaleidoscopic colours dance on fractured faces as
Bodies splinter into stop motion
Underneath the strobe
Lights.
Burnt
Glycol fog
Infuses into my clothing,
The atmosphere clinging,
A permanent record
Timestamped.
Now,
Back at the bar,
Unsure where my friends are,
I exchange my drink voucher for another Jägerbomb.
Liquor glowing caramel in the neon light,
Hands clasping around plastic,
I press it to my lips.
Anise,
Black liquorice,
Cough syrup sweetness,
Sugar blurring with the bitter sting.
Had enough already to slide into nothingness,
Thoughts are slow and sickly like
Jägermeister.
Waiting
in blindness,
On my own regardless, forever
stuck in a dense fog,
Sehnsucht.
Author Bio
Hi! I’m Catherine (she/her), a Brisbane based visual artist in my third year at QUT. Often exploring feminist, political and technological contexts in my work, I aim to interrogate what it means to be human, in the face of AI and algorithmic culture. I’m looking forward to putting on my rose coloured glasses and reminiscing on the past for our upcoming issue, Timestamp!