KRISTINE ESSER SLENTZ

Phantom Pain is an erasure project of The Phantom of the Opera. The Phantom of the Opera has been adapted across many types of media, including text, stage, and film which this project will work to include. The story portrays Christine, an orphaned woman who becomes the toxic obsession of the Phantom. By selecting and mapping particular words, images, and music from the source texts, this project will rewrite the story from one of love to one of someone overcoming abuse. Phantom Pain is a reclamation for Christine and those who identify with her.

KRISTINE ESSER SLENTZ’S work oftentimes strives to focus on the feminine human experience. In her previous publications, SLENTZ examines the impacts sexuality has on gender and queer perception through the redaction of documentation, experimental poetics, and hybrid artwork. While predominately a poet, she often incorporates other mediums to better communicate these conversations. She wishes to inform and influence these topics to those who seek to know more and those already in these communities with introspective knowledge and positive attributes.