A HAUNTOLOGY OF TRACES
By Ellen van Neerven
Published 19 August 2026
Sit but don’t
sit. Live but don’t
live. This is beyond discomfort
or dismissal. I
feel hot. I feel
red. What to do
with it. Stand
for Ancestors
the clothes they shed.
To create a haunted
object: recolour memory
meld domestic sharpness
turn the familiar into a
fugitive. Stretch to
repurpose the infected fabric
trace the care and attention
labour these shapes of wordless pain
remove the heavy frame
stare back at the colonial gaze
slow down the gut punch
twist their knife in the underside of history
absorb the fight of your family
wear three centuries on your back
transmit your Ancestors
converse with the living past
sit up to a shore of ships
sing to a shifting mirror world
It is a privilege
to sit on history.
Feel the teatree burning of
belonging. Lie down
on Empire. Put
your legs up. The body
lifts.
Footnote: ‘A Hauntology of Traces’ responds to Julie Gough’s sculpture ‘The Chase’ (2008). The many contrasts within Julie’s work spur ideas and connection, and this poem reflects on the laboured craft of transformation. This poem has been commissioned in partnership with the National Gallery of Australia.
Put two household objects together to create something new and strange. Centre the poem around the history of this object.
Ellen van Neerven
#30in30 #PoetryMonth
