MY HAMSTER DIED AND I WENT TO THE PARK
MY HAMSTER DIED AND I WENT TO THE PARK EXPLORES LOSS, TRANSIENCE, AND TENDERNESS THROUGH A DREAM-LIKE EXPERIENCE THAT FOLLOWS A PET HAMSTER’S SUDDEN DEATH AND THEIR SIMPLE BURIAL BESIDE SOME PURPLE FLOWERS AND SMALLER STONES.
THE BOOK IS A SHORTER VERSION OF A TEN-MINUTE AUDIO NARRATIVE THAT WAS READ BY THE TEXT-TO-SPEECH VOICE SUSAN. IN THE ORIGINAL PIECE, A FRACTURED ENCOUNTER WITH A NAKED MOLE RAT AND THEIR COLONY EMERGES FROM A DISSOCIATIVE, OUT-OF-BODY STATE. MOVING THROUGH BODILY SENSATIONS AND THE QUIET CYCLES OF DECAY AND RENEWAL, HAIR, SKIN,
AND NAILS BECOME CENTRAL MOTIFS IN THIS SHORT FICTION, WHICH COMBINES POETRY, WORDPLAY, ASSOCIATION, AND REPETITION WITHIN A MAGIC-REALIST SETTING.
MY HAMSTER DIED AND I WENT TO THE PARK WAS EXHIBITED AS AN INSTALLATION, INCLUDING A CD PLAYER, WIGS, AND NAILS, AS PART OF THE GROUP SHOW; LOVE YOU MY SWEATY, AT THE LIBRARY PROJECT, DUBLIN, 2023, AND WAS ALSO SELECTED FOR DUBLIN ART BOOK FAIR, THEME FLOCK, CURATED BY SELINA GUINNESS, 2025.