Susan says she’s been here longer than I have but Edna’s been here the longest. Edna doesn’t really communicate so it’s hard to know for sure. Susan says Edna hasn’t spoken since the man came to install the glass, but I can’t remember Edna saying much before that. I probably have the best memory of everyone but it’s still not very good. Jane claims to remember things through colour association. Yesterday a boy steamed up the glass with his breath and wrote ‘STIT’ with his stubby pink finger. If you look carefully, you can still see the outline of the soft letters. Jane remembers the colour pink and then traces her way back through the story. She describes this with conviction, but we all know she rarely makes it past the colours when trying to recall things from more than a few days ago. Beyond a few days the colours start to smudge. Gladys describes her memory as a series of moments. She’s the most sentimental of the group or ‘collection’, as they refer to us here. Vivian gets upset when they use that word. She says ‘collection’ is singular and we are plural. Susan says it’s more complicated than that but refuses to expand on this when pressed. Susan acts like she’s in charge, but there’s really no need for any kind of leadership. Very little changes here and even if it did, who would remember?

Opinions vary over the installation of the glass. Vivian says it’s a relief not to be groped by the visitors and when Barb responds that she feels alienated without physical contact, Vivian tells her she’s been conditioned to feel that way. I ask Vivian what she means by this but she can’t remember. Barb says the man who installed the glass looked sad or maybe bored. Jane says she’s seen him before, in the garden, and that he looks that way because he’s a deep thinker. Susan scoffs at this but won’t offer a counter argument. Edna says nothing. According to the guide, we’ve all got a blank look. The others are easier to distinguish.

'Susan' was part of a collaboration with

Rhona Mühlebach for the Adolf Dietrich Haus,

Berlingen, Switzerland. The short fiction was

written and narrated to accompany

moving-image works by Mühlebach, installed

home

image courtesy of Rhona Mühlebach and Adolf Dietrich Haus

image courtesy of Rhona Mühlebach and Adolf Dietrich Haus

image courtesy of Rhona Mühlebach and Adolf Dietrich Haus

images courtesy of Rhona Mühlebach and Adolf Dietrich Haus

image courtesy of Rhona Mühlebach and Adolf Dietrich Haus

installed in Adolf Dietrich's studio.