Sethe’s Back

A performance with Claire Kessler-Bradner of the character, Sethe, from Toni Morrison's novel, Beloved.

While reading Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, I was struck by the visual imagery of a tree on the character, Sethe’s back.  Beloved is my favorite novel and the metaphors in the book are themes that have followed me and my work since my first reading of it.  In the novel, Sethe has an experience with a white woman who nurtures and curses her all at once.  I invited a good friend of mine, Claire Kessler-Bradner, to participate in this piece with me. Claire, who is a book maker, would use a book binding tool to draw a tree on my back.

Before the performance, Claire and I spoke about the characters in Morrison’s novel.  We spoke of race relations and how our history of slavery affects us today.  She worried about hurting me in the process. I worried of my trust in her to not permanently scar me. We met ahead of time so she could practice how much pressure she could use to get my skin irritated enough to raise but not break it. 

On the day of the performance, a recording of a heartbeat played while Claire put a tree on my back. I could tell she was nervous as her palm felt very cold on my back.  I tried in vain to remain stoic while she drew.  At the end of it all, I was overwhelmed with the knowledge of pain, and wept.