The Complex X Mirror Lamp Press | Jessica Foley 'Complex Drafts' Draft III

Image by Jessica Foley. MLP x THE COMPLEX Drafts notebook

The MLP x The Complex writer-in-residence programme is aimed at early-career visual arts writers based in Ireland. This programme is designed to help writers develop their practice by inviting them to produce up to five new responses to the exhibitions and events programme at The Complex in Dublin.

" As MLP x The Complex Writer in Residence, Jessica Foley is developing a series of interconnected texts that move between performance and poetic experiment. Her writing explores how personal and political worlds overlap, tracing the textures of everyday life alongside the exhibitions and events at The Complex. Drawing particular inspiration from Anne Carson’s 'Stacks', Foley’s residency unfolds as an open, process-based inquiry into how language, voice, and performance take form over time.

Draft III is a response to Basma Al-Sharif’s film 'Long Life Witness', curated by Diaa Lagan, which was screened at Dissolutions ’25 festival by aemi, and to the exhibition '21226827118' by Colm Keady-Tabbal at The Complex Gallery, 24 October – 8 November 2025.

Draft III can be read here.

You can view The Complex Drafts notebook here."