One of the first things that I focused on when choosing pieces for this curatorial response was the aesthetic of the play. This work takes place in the girls’ locker room connected to a pool, and I was inspired to select a piece of art with an aesthetic that I am somewhat familiar with: the ‘poolroom’ aesthetic. Poolrooms #17 is a 3D model made by TheWTFage, posted on DeviantArt. This type of aesthetic is closely tied to the setting of the play and it also reminds me of the tone of the play. In the notes before the text begins, Ruby Rae Spiegel mentions that “Harshness is as true to this play as sweetness” (Spiegel). The harshness of the overhead fluorescent lights reflecting off of the calm waters in the liminal space of Poolrooms #17 are reminiscent of both the same lights that might be found in the girls’ locker room and the harshness of the situation that the two main characters find themselves in.

One of the themes of this play is the bonds of friendship and how easily they can be tested, broken, and reinforced. Throughout the play, Amy and Ester’s relationship is tried again and again, but in the end, Ester is there for Amy when she is following through with her abortion. Untitled (L.I.XXII.VII), by Simon Berger, portrays a woman’s face created entirely out of cracks in a single sheet of glass. I think this is a fascinating way of creating art, and it matches perfectly with the theme of bonds. Berger takes a hammer to a piece of glass to create cracks, just like how a lot of relationships are cracked and imperfect. The glass isn’t completely broken though, as Berger molds these cracks into the visage of faces, creating a beauty out of destruction. The same could be said for relationships: even if they are cracked and imperfect, those same cracks lead to some of the most worthwhile relationships. They create stronger bonds if the people in the relationship see it through, just like, despite their fighting, Ester being there for Amy during her struggles.

I knew I wanted to touch on the subject of abortion with this response, but I wasn’t sure how I wanted to approach it. Abortion is a grisly topic, and Dry Land isn’t a play to stray away from the grisly side: “The abortion in the play should be shown head-on. There should be a considerable amount of blood, and the actress playing Amy should feel comfortable being exposed.” (Spiegel). I decided on Hacked to Death II, a photograph by Andres Serrano, because of this. Serrano is a great photographer for this, as a lot of his work is uncomfortable. He has a series exploring sex, one exploring defecation, and one exploring dead bodies in a morgue (the series I pulled Hacked to Death II from). This piece in particular evoked the same feelings as the abortion scene: a feeling of dread and discomfort, but a sense that I couldn’t look away. The abortion in Dry Land was meant to be seen, as is Hacked to Death II and the rest of Serrano’s work.