M. C. Escher, The Gallery
Self-portrait on stainless contemporary surfaces
Loftus Marais
the city renders me into my own objective correlative
the surfaces compel me to reflection
renders me deaf, I only stare, I stare at myself:
I’m functional on toasters, microwave ovens
kettles of stainless steel
I’m framed by the portholes of washing machines
at times even in the mysterious glint of door knobs
and the darkness mirrored off switched-off tv screens
I’m epic in panoramic sliding doors
my face wobbles across sedan windows
I’m selling myself to myself in shop windows
always amongst narcissi in front of the flower shop
I multiply by myself through the geometry of the city
I flash schizophrenic in swing doors, I look at
low-angle shots of myself on marble floors of lobbies
the city will echo faintly, but show me my facets
in every shade of unlyrical grey
[Translated by Johann de Lange]
