Adriane N Dalton

(She/Her, United States)

Literary Magazine Co-Editor, Amnesty International, Food Not Bombs, Swim Team, Latin Club

“Big Zit Energy is a nod to adolescence—a period of inexorable scrutiny, collectively and individually, of the morphing body in the public sphere. From a massive zit on school picture day, or an out-of-the-blue erection during a class presentation, to the menstrual blood stain on a pair of school uniform khakis, adolescence is synonymous with a kind of quotidian “body-horror.” This term, usually used to describe a sub-genre of horror cinema, is categorized by grotesque distortion and abjectification of the corporeal form. The material, rubber grapes collected in thrift shops, is manipulated and configured into a string of papule-like forms, invoking the fear of the body’s monstrous potential.”