QUERY STRATA, WELLINGTON WINTER Object: Nineteen lines of human asking, compressed into geological deposit. Date of formation: indeterminate. Conditions: overcast, interior, cold tea. Method of production: reduction. The block cut away until only the asking remains. The wood's own grain present throughout — evidence that the asking took place inside something living. The reply: one pale rectangle. Wider. Lighter. No grain showing through. Note on provenance: The harbour visible in the narrow band above — or rather: the harbour not visible. The lid of cloud performing the harbour's function. The sky and the water indistinguishable. This is also a kind of answer. The mug, dull amber, off-frame: not catalogued. Condition: cold.