Divine Vessel by H.A. Peak & I.W. Morison
230 page illustrated science fiction novel, 2003

Just when I thought I had Heather and Ivan Morison pigeonholed as ecologically conscientious artists they go and write a sci-fi romp peppered with gratuitous gore and buggery. Rather than a confusion of intent, though, the novel Divine Vessel clarifies the Morisons' methodology. Through role-playing and self-conscious parody they probe the possibility of authenticity when making art, reflexively and heuristically redefining their practice with each undertaking.
Divine Vessel... is a great first stab at a novel, especially considering it was written during a four-week journey on a cargo ship from Shanghai to Auckland - invention and suspense are sustained, although the plot is absurd even by B-movie standards. But, as a sci-fi fan responded to the passage when aliens inhabiting the bodies of rabbits (which are like flight suits worn when operating human bodies from the inside - it takes some explainingÉ) fall to earth: 'it was at this point that I would have normally thrown the book across the room'. The book is riddled with imperfections and, let's face it, real science fiction exists in abundance and brilliance enough. But for the emphasis is less on the authority of the artefact and more on its formulation and dissemination. Art often shakily approximates the machined products of commercial enterprise, but the efforts of amateurs often proffer more sympathetic and productive models.
Sally O'Reilly, Heather & Ivan Morison, Frieze, March 2006

We took a cargo ship from Shanghai in China to Auckland in New Zealand. During the four week voyage we wrote a science fiction novel based upon events aboard. Six months before beginning the novel neither of us had read any science fiction whatsoever, nor had either of us ever written a book. The novel first existed as a dozen first-draft manuscripts. These manuscripts were circulated to a cross section of readers in order to gather feedback on what we had a sneaking suspicion was a rather bad book. So far, the novel has been read by five artists, four science fiction fans, two brothers, four curators, a writer, a captain of a ship and an alien. After taking in the feedback and making any necessary amends to the book, we will distribute a second draft of the manuscript to science fiction agents and publishers in the far fetched expectation that it might just get published. The novel is alo published in full in Appendix A of our catalogue Foundation and Empire.

(see cover illustration)
Fantastic voyage. A fantastic and spectacular voyage... through the human body... into the brain. Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch, Donald Pleasance. Or perhaps Sleeper. Seth and Ruby, or rather, Ivan and Heather embarking on an overseas adventure. Is it really science fiction? Or merely the natural world seen through the eyes of a pair of artists? Divine Vessel is the result of a very interesting month spent aboard a cargo ship indeed. I admit to especially loving Oddbjorn and Margaret. I am on chapter 33 and relishing every page. Before this though, I have been fortunate to have received notice of Ivan and Heather’s whereabouts other the last three years. Vicariously living out my frustrated fantasies of wanderlust, sitting on a toilet reading the latest issue of National Geographic and wondering why I’m not out there experiencing this vast, glorious planet. I placate myself thinking my chosen vocation allows me a certain birds eye view of things. Mr. & Mrs. Ivan Morison do not understand it... Heather Morison is haunted by the horrific death of her two beautiful Java Sparrows... I know there are more, but I just can’t remember them. While I was in Boston I received them at work. At times baffled by their seemingly cryptic statements. I was very happy to get them nonetheless. I loved displaying them on my walls surrounding my desk and often wondered what Ivan and Heather were like and if I was ever going to meet them. Maybe that’s not important. There’s a subtlety and beauty to their project and I support them. I wish I had saved the cards.
Gilbert Vicario
Curator, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas. (Formerly assistant curator ICA Boston)

Small selection of illustrations from Divine Vessel
(click on thumbnails for larger images)

An online version of the book is available in pdf format (download Acrobat Reader), chapter by chapter. We would be delighted, and surprised, if you were to read the book and to email them your impressions and thoughts about it to ivan@morison.info. To view each chapter as a pdf please click on each of the links below:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Epilogue