Permission to grow by Anaëlle Gonzalez (20.05.2022)     I can feel my old skin Shedding and Sloughing into something Unknown and obscure Yet, ablaze and assured.   The zebra membrane marbles, Unable to resolve This ambivalent maze. Boundaries blur between Old, current and altered selves.   The ego of distant pasts  Hoards and holds tightly To the weak certainties And polished identities.   The time-worn enamel sheds and sticks to the flayed membrane, Afraid of dissolution, Of memory loss and rejection.   The new flesh exposed and unsure Is half chrysalis, half hatched; Coerced to come into  But

Dreamcatchers   The following poetic letter Dear Sisters is a poem on an experience of sisterhood which was written in 2020 for the photobook Dromenvangers (‘Dreamcatchers’) of my dear friend and talented photographer Paulina Januszewska. In her words, the book is “the fruit of cooperation of many women (and some men as well) [who] have posed for portraits, shared their thoughts, experiences, knowledge and creativity. It’s a testimony of what happens when we direct our energy to create, develop talents, support and strengthen each other. We strive for connection, not for perfection.” I was delighted to be a part of this