Julia Mallory
USA
Julia Mallory, a storyteller and steward of ancestral narratives, weaves text and textiles into powerful works that honor Black memory and imagination
Miracle Worker No. 3
Artist Notes
Click the tab below to read
Julia Mallory Transcript for Miracle Worker No. 3 and Memory Keeper No. 3
Miracle Worker No. 3 (“Chtonic Cousins – Cosmic Collective Intimacy”)
Do you remember the rise and fall of your cousins’ laughter under the swell of the summer sun, insects buzzing too close to your sweet skin.
Layer 1
Stretched synth reverberates, rises.
Layer 2
Bass bell, bounces by two. Blossoms.
Layer 3
Synth and bell meet. Synth plays the background.
Layer 4
Synth falls back. Plucked strings post up.
Layer 5
Synth and bell meet. Synth plays the background. One mo ‘gain.
Layer 6
Bass bell, blooms!
Layer 123456
And again, and again, and again.
Memory Keeper No. 3 (“Bruised Green Arousal”)
All that weight of them yesterdays up on you. Breathe. Grieve. Release.
Layer 1
Bright chord, turned somber, turned back around.
Layer 2
Atmospheric memory, swells behind the chords.
Layer 3
Three times so you know it’s me, the chords open up and the memories flood.
Layer 1234
It cannot hold.
Memory Keeper No. 3
Julia Mallory
Biography
Julia Mallory is committed to being a good steward of, and vessel for, her ancestors’ stories. As a storyteller, she works with a range of mediums, from text to textiles.
Julia is the author of six books, including two children’s books. In addition, her work can be found at Barrelhouse, the Black Speculative Arts Movement’s “Curating the End of the World”, Electric Marronage, The Offing, Stellium Literary Magazine, Sugarcane Magazine, Torch Literary Arts, and elsewhere.
Black Listening's website front page header art and Obsidian 49.2 cover art were created by Nettrice Gaskins