João Luís Barreto Guimarães

Statues Missing Chunks

In the Roman Art wing of who-knows-which museum ancient torsos are on exhibit some of which are missing chunks. Time was meticulous in choosing what to carry off (the first parts to fall varied according to gender: there are Three Graces without heads a penisless Phoebus) surely there must be some place anatomy abounds for here it’s left wanting— marble-carved heads charming (albeit anemia bleached) sundry torsoless phalli (forlorn and without use) shall we all thank the gods for the gift of imagination permitting us to reconfigure through disfiguration. That’s not a difficult exercise. This was no divine sanction. These didn´t break with use.