The Sculpture and the Dead Body

Trespasses

The sculpture frames the novel’s inquiry into how violence rearranges a body and how those who loved the dead try to recognize him afterward.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Figure Made from Doors A Figure Made from Doors from "Trespasses". A Figure Made from Doors A body in resin Cushla encounters a pale male figure cast in fabric and resin.

A Figure Made from Doors from "Trespasses". A Figure Made from Doors A body in resin Cushla encounters a pale male figure cast in fabric and resin.

A Figure Made from Doors A body in resin Cushla encounters a pale male figure cast in fabric and resin. The guide calls its disorder a general representation of violent death, but Cushla sees a particular person. Recognition against explanation She recognizes the body’s proportions and details before she meets Davy. The sculpture makes memory a form of knowledge that cannot be reduced to a museum label.

The Disorder of Death The Disorder of Death from "Trespasses". The Disorder of Death An artistic account The guide says the sculpture contrasts classical serenity with the disordered body of someone murdered.

The Disorder of Death from "Trespasses". The Disorder of Death An artistic account The guide says the sculpture contrasts classical serenity with the disordered body of someone murdered.

The Disorder of Death An artistic account The guide says the sculpture contrasts classical serenity with the disordered body of someone murdered. Cushla rejects the suggestion that it represents an interchangeable Everyman. An intimate portrait She recognizes Michael’s shoulder, belly and jaw. The apparent generality of the figure is therefore challenged by the specificity of love and bodily memory.

The News Stretcher The News Stretcher from "Trespasses". The News Stretcher The televised body News footage shows Michael’s body under a sheet, limbs awkwardly arranged on a stretcher.

The News Stretcher from "Trespasses". The News Stretcher The televised body News footage shows Michael’s body under a sheet, limbs awkwardly arranged on a stretcher.

The News Stretcher The televised body News footage shows Michael’s body under a sheet, limbs awkwardly arranged on a stretcher. Cushla notices his injured shoulder has not been handled carefully. Public image, private knowledge The broadcast presents an identified victim, while Cushla sees the body she knew. Her small observation is a private protest against the distance imposed by news and official procedure.

Evidence and the Human Form Evidence and the Human Form from "Trespasses". Evidence and the Human Form Photographs as evidence The police show Cushla surveillance images of her intimacy with Michael.

Evidence and the Human Form from "Trespasses". Evidence and the Human Form Photographs as evidence The police show Cushla surveillance images of her intimacy with Michael.

Evidence and the Human Form Photographs as evidence The police show Cushla surveillance images of her intimacy with Michael. Elsewhere, Michael’s files preserve photographs of bodies allegedly tortured in custody. Two uses of the image Images can expose abuse, but they can also invade and coerce. The novel places the body between testimony, surveillance and personal memory.

The Hollow Cast The Hollow Cast from "Trespasses". The Hollow Cast A body absent within Cushla expects the sculpture to yield and finds it hard, cold and hollow.

The Hollow Cast from "Trespasses". The Hollow Cast A body absent within Cushla expects the sculpture to yield and finds it hard, cold and hollow.

The Hollow Cast A body absent within Cushla expects the sculpture to yield and finds it hard, cold and hollow. She reaches for Michael’s shoulder but cannot find the injury she remembers. Memory’s limit The artwork can hold the outline of violence but not restore the person. Cushla leaves the gallery with Davy, carrying grief alongside the possibility of ordinary conversation.

2015, at the gallery’s first display

2015, while the guide explains the artwork

The morning after Michael’s assassination

After Tommy’s arrest, during Cushla’s interrogation

2015, after Cushla touches the sculpture