Writing

Salted: An Artist’s Affidavit

Nova Scotian artist Jenna Marks shares the story of her historic sexual assault trial across 135 handbound pages of collage, photography, illustration and poetry.

At its core, Salted is a book critiquing the Canadian judicial system and its mistreatment of sexual assault survivors. But as a whole, it is a project about healing. Marks illustrates how re-engaging with the places that defined the traumas of her childhood can help create new meaning for her future. Filled with antidotes from Marks’ art practice in animation, pottery and textiles, Salted invites readers to reconnect with themselves, beginning by looking in their own backyard.

Sample of Writing - Poetry

Reckless, 2021

fire seethed

but the sound of my purring

matched

the grief fed mosses scream

I thought my jaw would break

but it was only from the pleasure

and I had to be discreet

so my mother wouldn’t hear

me being so caviler

and learning what my body was capable of

he said afterwards that he doesn’t believe in love

as we watched from the window

the smoke the rose

above the town

from the fires that burned

20k away

and he said it was beautiful

not thinking of the homes

and the lives that were lost

we puffed of the bones

and I saw the moon cry

but

10 years after the ash fields bloomed

with tiny berries

my mouths stains blue

with seeds and skin

and juice that drips down my arms

and I slip my hands across and stir

wet pedals that tickle the tension of dew

and I think about how

the taste of tragedy could be sweet

how could live be perfect with all its imperfections

the definition is as good as is possible

and my mother was what she could be

with cancer and secrets that shelter the children

from the pain of wild fires

that knock on locked doors ‘til they split

and its the parts that are broken

hair between my thighs

I guess that’s what makes me human

I push, and I moan

and the steam sucks the air from my lungs

and I remember what it’s like to be reckless