Photo By Gail

During a heavy rainstorm in Norfolk, England in 1893,  an odd assortment of fish fell out of the sky.  Thousands of cod, pollack and halibut showered the north side of the city in a concentrated area roughly the size of three modest cottages. After a spotted codfish crashed through a kitchen widow and struck young Claire Hargreaves’ head, knocking her unconscious,  a curious thing happened.

She awoke to discover that she had somehow developed such a vivid imagination that some of her ideas would transfer from the imaginary world  into reality as a physical token. The appearance of these objects was very mannered and exaggerated like a caricature. They looked like her drawings of things. After a while, she could control most of her thoughts and prevent them from forming insulting nor hurtful representations, but she could not mask when she was very pleased. When she had her happiest thoughts, they manifested themselves as a giant puffy fish that levitated above her head with a shocked and amazed look in its eyes.

Art and Story by Travis Louie. Photographed at Harman Projects Gallery on the Lower East Side.