Philoctetes at Lemnos Zine by Adelaide Blair
“This book is a play that is a poem that uses the Greek tragedy Philoctetes by Sophocles as a metaphor for immunocompromised people during COVID. It imagines a small section of the original play when Philoctetes knows he must leave Lemnos to help sack Troy, but he fights it because Odysseus abandoned him on the island 10 years prior because of a nasty wound that has never healed.
Philoctetes
I knew what I was getting into when
I agreed to sail to Troy.
I knew what could happen.
But I believed duty would
flow both ways,
I would give what I promised
and they would provide what they swore.
But I was abandoned before I even
saw the battlefield.
Now they need me.
And I cannot let myself
(want to) go.” - Adelaide Blair
5.5” x 4.5”
*Consignment item. Not eligible for 10% membership discount. All consignment purchases are final and non-refundable once shipped.
“This book is a play that is a poem that uses the Greek tragedy Philoctetes by Sophocles as a metaphor for immunocompromised people during COVID. It imagines a small section of the original play when Philoctetes knows he must leave Lemnos to help sack Troy, but he fights it because Odysseus abandoned him on the island 10 years prior because of a nasty wound that has never healed.
Philoctetes
I knew what I was getting into when
I agreed to sail to Troy.
I knew what could happen.
But I believed duty would
flow both ways,
I would give what I promised
and they would provide what they swore.
But I was abandoned before I even
saw the battlefield.
Now they need me.
And I cannot let myself
(want to) go.” - Adelaide Blair
5.5” x 4.5”
*Consignment item. Not eligible for 10% membership discount. All consignment purchases are final and non-refundable once shipped.
“This book is a play that is a poem that uses the Greek tragedy Philoctetes by Sophocles as a metaphor for immunocompromised people during COVID. It imagines a small section of the original play when Philoctetes knows he must leave Lemnos to help sack Troy, but he fights it because Odysseus abandoned him on the island 10 years prior because of a nasty wound that has never healed.
Philoctetes
I knew what I was getting into when
I agreed to sail to Troy.
I knew what could happen.
But I believed duty would
flow both ways,
I would give what I promised
and they would provide what they swore.
But I was abandoned before I even
saw the battlefield.
Now they need me.
And I cannot let myself
(want to) go.” - Adelaide Blair
5.5” x 4.5”
*Consignment item. Not eligible for 10% membership discount. All consignment purchases are final and non-refundable once shipped.
Adelaide Blair (she/her) is a project-based artist whose research-centered practice allows her to interact with and learn about the world. She is interested in distributed intelligence, and many of her projects involve elements of collaboration or participation. Her subject matter has included ghosts, artificial intelligence, the Greek tragedy Philoctetes, reproductive terms used in printmaking, the Dirty War in Argentina, and networks of corruption in the contemporary art world. She has a Substack newsletter, Sell the Painting, where she mostly writes about the financialization of art, but also uses that space for experimental artmaking and other forms of art writing. Originally from Southern Oregon, Adelaide resides in Seattle, Washington and has an MFA from The Pacific Northwest College of Art.
Instagram: @Adelaide_Blair
