on routine: sarah-linda forrer

Sarah-Linda Forrer is an Amsterdam-based designer, focused on luxury tableware and interior accessories. She speaks a little in our interview about her mission, which centers around inspiring people to eat better, and to pay more attention to the dining experience— in terms of nourishment, its sensuality, and the impact of agriculture systems and cultural culinary habits on the environment. We met at Villa Lena— one of my clearest memories of her was on a long walk with our friend Nadine down to the center of Palaia, she stopped me from grabbing a poisonous leaf off a tree that I hoped to use as a bookmark. She and Nadine chuckled, I didn’t know better, I trailed behind, then they found wild fennel on the side of the road, which they began to pick, and it hit me all at once that if I would never survive in the woods as I was. She also speaks five languages, so it’s hard enough to keep up without the botany expertise.

The Netherlands has instituted relatively lax conditions in comparison to other countries in Europe. The country has registered 44,447 cases of Covid-19, and 5748 deaths. What Sarah-Linda describes as an “intelligent lockdown” looks a lot like what cities like New York are striving to advance to— shops are open, you can walk in pairs, and restaurants remain closed until the 1st of June, with a limit of 30 occupants per restaurant (including staff). She told me after our interview that with the arrival of nice weather, the parks are quite full again, and she has the feeling “when people are supposed to stay in, they want to go out even more.”

P: Bonjour, Sarah-Linda. Where are you?

S: I’m in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Splitting my time between our apartment and my studio.

P: What do you see outside your window?

S: When I’m at home I see the two big old trees in our shared backyard: a chestnut tree and a plane tree. They block the view to most of the neighbours, which I love. It gives me the feeling that I’m not in the middle of the city.  They are beautifully green now, and full of birds. 

At the studio it’s quite boring. It’s situated in a kind of industrial/office area so when I look outside I see office buildings, parking lots and a bit further, the highway ring road.

P: What are the restrictions like there?

S: There is an “intelligent” lockdown here, meaning all restaurants, gyms, public places and activities are closed. Some non-essential shops are still open and quite some businesses are still running. People can go outside, however we are advised to stay in as much as possible. Fines are distributed to groups of more than 3 people who don’t respect the 1,5m distance. 

P: Could you describe your journey to the studio? What are some of the things you see along the way? 

S: It’s a 15min bike ride to the studio. The first part is beautiful. I drive along the Amstel canal with its big trees, nice views and old houses. When the weather is good, people are hanging out on the canal side, jogging or rowing on the water. It can be really busy on sunny days. Then, I pass a few huge office buildings and arrive in the district where my studio is. It used to be a scary, old neighbourhood with a prison and a Hells Angels hangout. But now they are demolishing everything and building new apartment buildings and luxury urban villas. So it’s basically a huge construction site with new houses where people are already living, and old parts still being demolished. It’s a new part of town being constructed and it changes everyday. Just after that, between older offices and businesses, is my studio building. 

P: What does a typical day of quarantine look like for you?

S: It varies a little. At the beginning of quarantine I didn’t do much except for taking some rest, reading, cooking  and gardening on the balcony, because my boyfriend and I were actually supposed to be on holiday. After some time I started worrying about the effect the crisis would have on my business, since I’m dependent on the hospitality industry… so I went back to work at the studio, trying to switch my focus and create objects for consumers at home instead of restaurants. I’m now working on that line which should be online soon. So now my days are more productive, but I don’t have the same schedule as usual. Somehow without as many appointments and with the daily traffic hours gone, I don’t feel the same stress and need to keep strict working hours. I don’t set an alarm (I really don’t like waking up with an alarm), so depending on what time we go to bed, I wake up between 7:30 and 8:30am. We have a long morning routine, usually including a yoga and/or HIIT workout, a delicious breakfast, and a meditation. We are now in the middle of a 10 day reset, meaning a diet with no carbs, no grains, no dairy, no sugar, no caffeine, no alcohol, nothing processed .. so it’s a lot of experimenting, looking for recipes and more time in the kitchen. I feel great though! After the long morning routine, I either work from home or I bike to the studio where I can work on my ceramics. When I feel satisfied, or tired, or too hungry, I go back home and we prepare dinner. We take more time now to eat together at the table and make it nice. After that, usually a movie on the couch or reading, and some intimate time. As all the appointments, dinners, events, etc are cancelled, it feels a lot more quiet and peaceful. No decisions to make whether to go out or not, what to prioritise.. we are just home!

P: Have you found yourself turning to a certain dish, or song, or book over and over again during this time?

S: We experiment a lot more with cooking right now, so I actually enjoy trying different things, however a go-to at this moment is our homemade ratatouille .. just amazing! I’m also finally reading all the books that were waiting for me on the shelf, so I’m not coming back to a certain book, but reading as many new ones as I can. 

P: Has the experience of isolating changed your relationship to you artistic practice?

S: In a way, yes. Because of everything that’s happening, and my client base disappearing, I am rethinking what I’m doing, what I want to achieve and what I’m doing it for. Is it even useful? Does it translate into my mission, my "why"? Are people still going to want and need it, now and afterwards? So I’m thinking a lot about that and trying to figure it out. In the mean time, the objects I’m making now are a very different direction from what I was making before. The urgency changed, so the creation changed.

P: Could you describe a little more about your mission? I'm curious to hear how the change in urgency is manifesting in your work too-- does it impact shape? Texture? Function? All of the above? Food has become such a center piece to this time-- have you found yourself making anything for yourself to use at home?

S: My broader mission is to inspire people to eat better, and pay more attention when they are eating. Pre-corona, I did that by creating sensual tableware for high-end restaurants, working with these chefs to create a different dining experience for their guests. But now that all the restaurants are closed and everyone has to eat at home, I want to reach consumers and inspire them to create a moment of pleasure when they are eating. It’s even more important in these times to take care of yourself and your family and to eat well. The things you cook yourself are usually much more simple and down to earth than what you get in a fancy restaurant. More one-pan or bowl dishes, and no seven-course meals. At home, people need usable multipurpose tableware and recognisable shapes. So that’s what I’m working on now, I’m changing the shapes to be more functional for at home, although they are still handmade and somewhat organic, because that’s just who I am. And yes, I am creating things that I need or wanted at home, so I can also test the shapes, see how they work and get new ideas. We now already have a whole new set of bowls, salad bowls and coffee cups in the kitchen ;)

But hopefully my pre-corona work will still be used in all these amazing restaurants very soon!

P: How are you mentally preparing to return to life post-quarantine? Although I look forward to casual socializing and healthy neighbors, I have found myself strangely happy from time to time in this kind of isolation-- I wonder if you have experienced this as well.

S: Yes me too, I have found myself strangely happy and calm at some moments during this isolation. Maybe it’s all the FOMO that’s gone because nothing is happening anyway. It gives you the peace of mind to stay home and enjoy it. I think after quarantine I’ll try to prioritise more, to only go and do the things I really want to do, not the things I feel like I have to do because everyone does it. And I hope I can keep this stress-free feeling by being a little kinder to myself and not obsessing over irrelevant details. Because now I really realise that stress is self-induced by thoughts and how you handle them.. so it’s up to us.

on routine: fabio ranzolin

Fabio Ranzolin is a visual artist based in Vicenza, in the Veneto region of Italy. We met on residency in 2018, where he taught me how to roll cigarettes (which I do poorly) and introduced me to Gino Paoli, but we became closer friends a year and a half later on his first trip to New York. Fabio uses recognizable ready-made and found objects to create his installations. “The aim is not to create something new, but rather to recover symbols and meanings from elements that are a fundamental part of our society.” His research is based on gender-related themes and the condition of homosexuality in the Italian context, with particular attention to the effects of the patriarchy.

Italy was the first country in Europe to experience the devastation of Covid-19, with the regions of Lombardia & Emilia Romagna in the north the hardest hit (Veneto, Fabio’s region neighbors both). Only recently has the country begun relaxing restrictions on its citizens. #IoRestoACasa, I’m staying home, became a slogan for the lockdown to signal the social importance of abiding by the restrictions to flatten the curve and protect the country’s most vulnerable.

Italy has since managed to decrease the infection rate, with Spain and the UK overtaking them as the most impacted countries on the European continent. To date, Italy has register over 220,000 cases of Covid-19, 30,739 deaths and 107,000 recoveries. Now a new medical emergency arises, the mental health of the survivors. 

We conducted the interview in Italian in an effort to represent Fabio’s thoughts and voice as completely and truthfully as possible. I’ve decided to include both the English translation as well as the original Italian transcript to allow those readers who can compare the opportunity to do so. In particular, Fabio writes poetically, with lots of humor, which I hope the translation evokes.

P: Ciao Fabio :) Where are you?

F: Ciao Peter! I am in Vicenza, Italy.

P: Could you describe what the restrictions are like there?

F: Currently we are in so-called "phase 2", trying to gradually return to the pre-Covid liberal market economy. 

P: How do you spend a typical day of quarantine?

F: It is necessary to start honestly: living in quarantine with dignity is a class privilege. Having said that, I consider myself very lucky. In this period I started to take university courses remotely in gender studies and evolutionary psychology. In addition, I take this opportunity to follow parallel lessons online, netflix parties, online conferences, presentations (...) and all that’s necessary to tell myself I’m making good use of the time! Sadly yoga and workout via streaming only lasted two weeks. 

P: Haha. What do you see outside your window?

F: How can I answer... What a pity not to be born in Siena, or to wake up in Rome, have a terrace in Genoa, have breakfast in Venice or take a tour in the center of Matera; then drink coffee in Naples, a quick walk in Gubbio and then the aperitif in osmitza in Trieste, to end the day in Palermo and end up in some queer club in Milan. 

P: Have you found a “go-to” meal?

F: No. 

P: At the beginning, I found it difficult to concentrate in quarantine. Have you been able to read? If you have, what kind of books have you been reading? 

F: Actually it was the opposite for me, Peter. Before, because of my work, I could not engage in readings that were not novels or TV series (these being my biggest vice, seriously). I need to have a fresh mind to read. Right now I'm focusing on feminist studies. I recommend Federico Zappino. 

P: Has this period changed your perspective on your artistic subjects?

F: I believe so, significantly, but I’ve not yet understood in what sense. The other day I reread an article by Felix Gonzalez-Torres from '94: "(...) don't act like ‘artists’. Stick scrupulously to the division of labor and don’t talk about how important it is for your "creative self" to scatter your body full of shit as a metaphor for the long wait before the subway’s arrival. " (my translation) Still applies, no? 

P: Lmao. Yes. 

How have you been able to balance a sense of productivity or purpose with your basic needs? Have your priorities changed?

F: Dear Peter, I think very badly! Balance is a condition that unfortunately does not belong to me. Normality scares me – always – so I would like to get away from it as much as possible. The feeling of "productivity" distresses me and my basic needs have the flavor of chips. I realize that in these three lines I appear "on the verge of a nervous breakdown". In reality, it’s not like that. The quarantine legitimized social distancing (my hidden desire), but it also created a crack in advanced capitalism. It’s conceivable this rift will only be narrative, as everything seems to be returning as fast as before, but it’s sort of electrifying, and makes me restless. The end of the human in the western sense is at stake and we will be part of it! 

P: Are there any ideas in particular that you’ve learned inside the “cocoon” of self-quarantine that you’d like to take away with you?

F: Yes, that the border between science fiction and socio-economic reality is an optical illusion. 

Click here to see more of Fabio’s work.

Original Transcript:

P: Ciao Fabio :) Dove sei? 

F: Ciao Peter! Io sono a Vicenza, Italia. 

P: Potresti descrivere quali sono le restrizioni lì?

F: Attualmente siamo nella cosiddetta “fase 2”, si cerca di tornare in maniera graduale al mercato liberale prima del Covid. 

P: Come passi una giornata tipo di quarantena? 

F: È necessario iniziare con l'essere onesti: vivere dignitosamente la quarantena è un privilegio di classe. Detto questo mi ritengo molto fortunato. In questo periodo ho iniziato a seguire i corsi universitari da remoto di gender studies e di evolutionary psychology. Inoltre colgo l'occasione per seguire delle web lessons parallele, netflix party, conferenze online, presentazioni (...) e tutto quello che è necessario per dire a me stesso che sto sfruttando bene il tempo! Con lo yoga e il workout streaming sono durato solo due settimane. 

P: Haha. E cosa vedi fuori la tua finestra? 

F: Come risponderti...Che peccato non essere nati a Siena, oppure svegliarsi a Roma, avere una terrazza a Genova, far colazione a Venezia e fare un giro nel centro di Matera; bere poi il caffè a Napoli, una veloce passeggiata a Gubbio e poi l'aperitivo in osmitza a Trieste, per terminare la giornata a Palermo e finire in qualche club queer a Milano. 

P: Ti sei trovato a cucinare un pasto "go-to"? 

F: No. 

P: All'inizio, avevo molti problemi a concentrarmi in quarantena. Sei stato in grado di leggere? Se è così, che tipo di libri stai leggendo? 

F: Per me è stato l'opposto Peter, prima per colpa del lavoro non riuscivo a impegnarmi in letture che non fossero romanzi o telefilm, grande mia condanna (seriamente). Per leggere ho bisogno di avere la mente fresca. In questo momento mi sto concentrando sugli studi femministi. Ti consiglio Federico Zappino. 

P: Questo periodo ha cambiato la tua prospettiva sui tuoi soggetti artistici? 

F: Credo in maniera significativa, ma non ho ancora compreso in che senso. L'altro giorno ho riletto un articolo di Felix Gonzalez-Torres del '94: “(...) non atteggiatevi ad “artisti”. Attenetevi scrupolosamente alla divisione del lavoro e non parlate di quanto sia importante per il vostro “io creativo” cospargevi il corpo di merda come metafora della lunga attesa prima dell'arrivo della metropolitana.” (traduzione mia) Attuale no? 

P: Lmao. Sì. 

Come riesci a bilanciare la sensazione di "produttività" o lo scopo con la cura dei tuoi bisogni di base? Sono cambiate, le tue priorità? 

F: Caro Peter, credo molto male! L'equilibrio è una condizione che poco mi appartiene. La normalità mi spaventa – sempre-, quindi vorrei allontanarmene il più possibile. La sensazione di “produttività” mi angoscia e i miei bisogni di base hanno il sapore di chips. Mi rendo conto che in queste tre righe appaio “on the verge of a nervous breakdown”. In realtà non è così. La quarantena ha legittimano il social distancing (mio desiderio nascosto), ma ha anche permesso di creare una crepa al capitalismo avanzato. Questa frattura è prevedibile che sia solo narrativa, tutto ritornerà veloce come prima, ma è qualcosa di elettrizzante e inquieto. È in gioco la fine dell'umano in senso occidentale e noi ne faremo parte! 

P: C'è qualche idea particolare che hai imparato all'interno del "bozzolo" dell'auto-quarantena che vorresti portarti via? 

F: Sì, che il confine tra la fantascienza e la realtà socio-economica è un'illusione ottica. 

on routine: diane alexandre

Diane Alexandre is a French-born ceramist and graphic designer based in Athens, Greece. We met in 2018, at Villa Lena, where we were in residence alongside nine other artists. The images Diane has provided are of the totems she creates, or as she calls them: the “witnesses of [her] past.” I’ll never forget how full of energy she was when we met: I came by the ceramic studio in the afternoon to try making a bowl and she had completely filled a trolley with plates, cups, utensils, and some small totems made over the span of only one or two days: all finely crafted, even and smooth, practical, and extremely chic. I sat with her and another friend at a make-shift table outside, beside some twisted olive trees, and watched them work swiftly, with precision, while I mindlessly pawed, smudged and tore at the slab of grey, wet clay before me.

To date, Greece has only 2710 confirmed cases of Covid-19, 151 deaths and 1374 recoveries. The country has fortuitously evaded the fate that neighboring counties like Italy & Turkey met and has begun relaxing restrictions on the population, as Diane explains. With the second largest elderly population in Europe, Greece’s swift action to contain the spread has thus far been a silver lining success story for an otherwise devastated European continent. To read more about Greece and their efforts to save the summer tourist season, click here.

P: Ciao Diane. Where are you?

D: I am in Athens, Greece.

P: Could you describe what the restrictions are like there?

D: The restrictions were until last week to stay at home except for groceries or medical purposes. We had to text our whereabouts to a special number, carry our ID at all times and have a paper stated where we were going, why and for how long. Every shop and restaurant was closed, except for pharmacies and food stores. Open air markets remained. We were asked to wait our turn to enter a supermarket, wear a mask and gloves. We were allowed dog walking and also physical activity for one or two hours, with justification.

P: What did a typical day of quarantine look like for you?

D: My typical day of quarantine was waking up at 9:00, make coffee and leave for my dogs to walk 1h30 in Filopapou Hill (the biggest and most beautiful park of the city). Then come back home and work straight on my ceramics until the second dog walk about 17:00. I would rarely cook, except for nice salad bowls for a late lunch break and some occasional home made pasta at night. I was much more focused on my glasses of wine to be honest! I would work again a few hours, then read, or watch Netflix or go to sleep early and cuddle with my 2 dogs and cat.

P: Did you find yourself cooking a go-to meal?

D: The go-to meal… I usually take all the veggies left in the house, cut them and make either a salad or a sauce for pasta, with whatever cream or cheese I find. I am not much of a cook but I am getting better at doing something with apparently nothing. Nobody complained yet… 

P: At first, I had a lot of trouble concentrating under quarantine. Have you been able to read? If so, what kinds of books are you reading?

D: As for my readings, they have been eclectic : Un Royaume des Femmes by Anton Tchekhov, Voyage au centre de la Terre by Jules Verne, Confession d’un enfant du siècle by Alfred de Musset, Delta of Venus and A Spy in the House of Love by Anaïs Nin, Leurs enfants après eux by Nicolat Mathieu, How to be Good by Nick Hornby, Roman avec Cocaïne by M. Aguéev (found this one in the street), Une mort très douce by Simone de Beauvoir, Beyond the Chains of Illusion by Erich Fromm, Man and Crisis by José Ortega y Gasset (that I never seem to finish for 3 years).

(P: Woah.)

D: It’s not that I found it difficult to focus, but I kept so busy with clay work that my readings were only happening at night, in my bed, for the 30 minutes I was able to stay awake…

P: Had isolation and the sacrifice of movement changed your perspective on your artistic subjects or focuses?

D: I did not feel particularly isolated, I am used to spending my time alone. Actually, my last winter felt more solitary than this period… This time, everybody else was confined so people were calling me and texting me much more… And I did not sacrifice movement much, for I walk a lot in nature every day. But I feel now that I was on the right path going inwards and looking for inspiration inside and not so much outside of myself for the past 4 years. I have been working on my very own pantheon of deities, shaping totems and gods as many witnesses of my past, my dreams, my loves. All of my creation supported me, until one point, after the end of the second week of confinement, where I just lost faith in them. I felt hopeless and incredulous. I was fearing to be dishonest in my process. But slowly, they came back. I came back.

P: How are you able to balance feeling “productive” or purposeful with taking care of your basic needs in light of the circumstances? Have your priorities shifted at all?

D: I have been uber productive I must say, I just transported my workshop home and continued with my personal work and my orders as if nothing happened. In such a way that I didn’t feel I had time for my basic needs anymore. I felt needing to tend to my pets, and my house, and my work until sleep was beating me up. I did not have one minute to take care of myself… So I decided to take the 21 days Deepak Chopra meditation. It was a blessing. I had to take at least one hour every day for meditation and assignment. I loved it. My priorities haven’t shifted. I always have put first my relationship, my animals and my work. I just realized I never put myself in these priorities… I must apply to that now.

P: Is there any particular idea you have learned inside the “cocoon” of self-quarantine that you would like to take away with you when we are able to move freely again?

D: I think after the inner turmoils of quarantine, whether they concerned my inspiration, my relationship, my place in this world, I just came to realize that whatever would happen, I would be ok. I came out with self trust. Which is always good!

on routine: betsy kenney

Betsy Kenney is a comedy writer, performer & voiceover artist based in Brooklyn, New York. I met Betsy in 2019 on the set of Now’s Not the Best Time. She writes and directs with collaborator Dara Katz. Their short film Tapes, a dramedy about a mother/daughter relationship, was selected to premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival which has been indefinitely postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak in New York City. Their 2018 film, Amazing Bagel was an official selection of the 2019 Maryland Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival and won the Audience Choice Award at the Nitehawk Shorts Fest. Their previous series, The Place We Live, a ‘90s evening soap parody, can be viewed on IFC.com.

New York City remains the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. At this moment in time, the city has lost 24,035 people to Covid-19, confirmed cases have reached 318,134, and the city remains locked down. Masks or facial coverings are finally required to enter open businesses. Governor Andrew Cuomo recently shared the results of an antibody test study that suggest 21% of the city has been infected and is carrying antibodies. This week, he announced that the New York City subway system would be closed from 1am-5am every day for disinfecting— marking only the third time in the past decade that the system has shut down.

P: Hi Bets. Where are you?

B: In Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

P: What do you see when you look outside your window?

B: When I look out my window I see two of my neighbors backyards and lots of trees. Three feral cats live out there and that’s the closest I’ll probably get to having my own pet in New York. 

P: What is a typical day of quarantine looking like for you now?

B: I try to keep normal "work hours" during the day so I give myself a little structure. I wake up around 7:30am, have breakfast and coffee and then I get started on my work. Before I dive into any "work" I check my email, track down my unemployment money, watch a bunch of Internet videos I shouldn't be wasting my time watching and THEN I finally get to writing.  I have a writing partner so we usually plan a time to talk and brainstorm during the day together. It’s helpful to have someone hold you accountable for work!

P: Have you found yourself making a go-to meal?

B: It's quarantine, you get sick of EVERYTHING! I try to switch it up as much as possible but...my go-to meal would be avocado toast (I'm a basic b*tch at heart)! 

P: Me same. Have you been able to read? If so, what kinds of books are you reading?

B: I had a lot of trouble focusing in the beginning of quarantine but now I'm a reading machine! I'm currently reading Long Live The Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden (highly recommend) and at the same time I'm reading a screenwriting book hoping it will inspire me to actually start writing it. Life hack: Use your Library card through the Libby app and read for free on your devices (BTW the first generation Kindle is the best thing ever?!?!)

P: I’ve been curious if isolation and the sacrifice of movement has changed your perspective on your artistic subjects or focuses. Has it?

B: Dara (my writing partner) and I are really inspired by the emotional relationships between people and that’s something I really miss. I miss fighting with my family or crying over my life with a friend over a bottle of wine (Zoom is not the same!!). These conversations and moments in life are often things that drive my work and I feel like we’re missing out on all human connection so I’ll be interested to see if this affects my work. 

P. How are you able to balance feeling “productive” or purposeful with taking care of your basic needs in light of the circumstances?

B: I had Covid-19 for the first two weeks of quarantine so I had an absolute PASS on not having to do anything at all. I promised myself if I got better (thank god I did) I would take advantage of this time and be creative. I think it’s good to take your emotional temperature each day. If you’re really not in the mood to write or be productive- don’t. Take it day by day. This isn’t a race. This is about being in touch with yourself and your work during this time so you can go as slow as you want. It’s about quality not quantity. 

on routine: chelsea frei

Chelsea Frei is a Los Angeles-based actor, writer, and producer. She was recently seen in Fox’s A Very Moody Christmas and can currently be found on TBS’s The Last OG. I met Chelsea in New York in 2011, and in 2014 we co-founded Cue together to begin producing work. Her debut feature screenplay, Tankhouse, is currently in post-production, and features Richard Kind and Christopher Lloyd. (You may already be familiar with her Massachusetts mom parody on Instagram.)

Compared to New York, Los Angeles has managed to swiftly minimize the spread of Covid-19 and has so far reported just over 1200 deaths (making up more than half of the states 2172 total deaths) and 24,894 confirmed cases. Most non-essential businesses are still closed and the state remains locked down with some changes supposedly imminent under the guidance of Governor Gavin Newsom. Parts of California erupted in protest in the last week to demand the state reopen their economy.

P: Where are you, Chix? 

C: In West Hollywood, at my apartment.

P: What is a typical day of quarantine looking like for you? 

C: Depending on how early I went to bed, I usually wake up between 8-10am. I make coffee/toast. I have a daily virtual pilates class at 11am that is by far the thing I look forward to the most. After that I’ll grab a snack, then set up a little office wherever is available in our condo (I have three roommates, so it varies daily) and I write via FaceTime with my writing partner. We usually write 4-6 hours, depending how we are both feeling. We try to give each other space/not hold a strict schedule, but the writing definitely helps us both stay sane. After that, I’ll go on a walk, then figure out dinner. My roommates and I usually have something we’ve been bingeing, so we’ll watch that together then go to bed. 

P: Regarding writing with your writing partner: Do you find yourself working in any particular way? Are you editing? Are you generating new pages? Is it both? Are you setting deadlines? And has the lens of quarantine changed your relationship to your script at all?

C: We FaceTime and use the collaboration mode on Final Draft! We were halfway done with the script when the quarantine started, and we're now on our third draft of the final script, it's gone through two rounds of notes. We give ourselves deadlines which really helps. I think our relationship has changed with each other more than with the script, we are better at writing faster and smarter, and not wasting time (we are close friends, so we always want a chat session before we begin writing). FaceTime writing can be difficult, you aren't seeing the person's exact reactions, just a close up of their face, which can lead to some miscommunication. It's taken a while for us to get the kinks out. We also are trying to make use of the fact that a lot of people are home, so it's a great time to ask for notes!

P: Do you have a go-to meal?

C: Peanut butter toast lol, but my boyfriend is REALLY good at making food so he has been making us awesome meals - we had cacio e pepe last night which was pretty phenom. 

P: Have you been able to read? If so, what kinds of books are you reading? 

C: I always am reading some trashy thriller/crime/murder novel, I have one now that I read sporadically, but mainly reading scripts.

P: Has isolation and the sacrifice of movement changed your perspective on your artistic subjects or focuses? If so, how? 

C: I’ve found it much easier to write and focus on one project at a time. Because production and auditioning has been essentially halted, I’m able to focus on just creating my own work. I also think I give myself more “breaks” and just allow myself to feel however I’m feeling. Whereas in *normal life* I’d perhaps beat myself up about not finishing something by a deadline I’ve been given or made for myself. 

P: How are you able to balance feeling “productive” or purposeful with taking care of your basic needs in light of the circumstances?

C: I just give myself more breaks/do things I wouldn’t normally do. I’ve been drawing a lot, taking baths, going on walks. I also let smaller things make me feel accomplished - like a stupid example, but if I can make one type of content in a day (either a self tape, an instagram video, a few funny tweets, a couple hours writing) I feel accomplished, as opposed to *normal life* where I’d look at a day with just one thing done as unfinished. But, that’s just me, I’m pretty crazy/neurotic about work. 

P: I don't think it's a stupid example at all. That seems like a significant adjustment. What other little accomplishments are you honoring these days-- anything relationship related? House-chore related? Have you found it extending towards other aspects of life as well?

C: I definitely work hard to maintain relationships with my roommates. I live with my boyfriend, sister, and best friend, which is such a blessing. However, it's a lot of personalities trapped in one apartment 🤣 So making sure everyone is doing okay, making sure my moods don't impact everyone else, those are the types of things I definitely see as "goals" and "wins" during this time.

P: Is there any particular idea you have learned inside the “cocoon” of self-quarantine that you would like to take away with you when we are able to move freely again? 

C: The power of meditation and a hot bath!

on routine: ysabelle cheung

Ysabelle Cheung is a Hong-Kong based writer and editor, formerly the Managing Editor of ArtAsiaPacific. Her writing has been published in Literary Hub, Catapult, Artforum and Hyperallergic amongst others. She published her first zine, Pillow Hands, Heavy Feet, with Eunice Tsang in 2019. I met Ysabelle in New York in the fall of 2015, a year before she moved back to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has registed 1038 cases of Covid-19. From the South China Morning Post: “There was a surge in cases from mid-March, with dozens of new infections identified every day, many related to Hongkongers arriving from overseas. But that situation has gradually eased. Since April 12, Hong Kong’s new daily case rate has dropped into the single digits, ranging from one to five. No new cases were recorded on Monday, prompting health authorities to forego their daily coronavirus press conference for the first time in nearly three months.”

Social distancing has been in place since January in Hong Kong, and although residents are encouraged to remain at home as much as possible, they are not quarantined under as strict of restrictions as countries like Spain, Italy, France, and parts of the United States. Since June of 2019, Hong Kong has been in the global spotlight for the ongoing Pro-Democracy protests that erupted in response to an extradition bill introduced by Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Despite the bill’s withdrawal, the protests had continued until the outbreak of Covid-19. It now appears the Hong Kong government is using the circumstances to crack down on the dissent, as fifteen high-profile Pro-Democracy advocates were arrested on Saturday, 18 April.

Pillow Hands, Heavy Feet Cover

P: Hi Ysabelle! Where are you?

Y: Hong Kong. 

P: Will you tell me what a typical day of quarantine looks like for you?

Y: We wake up quite late, then make breakfast and walk the dog. I’m a freelance writer so I work from home anyway. I spend a few hours in the morning on urgent matters—sometimes that means working on my fiction, or completing an assignment—and then take a break in the afternoon to eat, walk my dog again, and then work a little more. I like to work in long stretches but can often become so absorbed in my work that I forget to tend to myself (I sometimes end up eating around 3:30pm because of this) so these little breaks really help. At night, I try to relish the act of cooking dinner, or doing things with my hands, since I’m mostly looking at the screen all day.
We’ve been social distancing since January and I’ve been freelancing since last September, so I’ve become very used to this routine. I typically only ever go out to walk my dog, or if I need to get groceries and supplies.

P: I’m curious if you have a go-to meal you’ve been cooking regularly?

Y: I have so many, because I’m perpetually craving different flavors and I also have a lot of intolerances and a tricky inflammatory system. When it’s chilly and there’s rain outside, I like to make myself rice noodles with various pickles and vegetables in soup, and I’ll add chunks of ginger—it’s something a relative used to make me all the time when I was younger. Lately I’ve been baking a lot of gluten-free sourdough bread and timing it so that an hour after it’s out of the oven, I can eat it with slatherings of goat cheese and oily fish in olive oil.

P: On some days I have found it very challenging to start new books. One week I read the Ursula K. Le Guin essay you sent me a number of times, but that was all I could entertain. Have you been able to read? If so, what kinds of books are you reading?

Y: One of the topics I write about is literature, so I primarily read books for work. I’m currently reading Xu Xu’s translated stories, and a memoir by Steve Alpert, who used to work at Ghibli Studios (they produce animated films like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro). Books I’m reading that are unrelated to work: Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado, the master of body horror and queer writing; and Annelise Chen’s So Many Olympic Extertions, which is a profound fragmented novel on grief and sports writing—it’s largely described as what the ancient Greeks called hypomnemata, which are notes to oneself. 

P: Has feeling isolated and sacrificing your freedom of movement changed your perspective on your artistic subjects or focuses? If so, in what ways?

Y: It’s hard to tell. I’m still processing the last few months, and before that, all of 2019—there were massive uprisings in Hong Kong in the latter half of that year. To go from teargas and fires and police brutality to complete silence (metaphorically) has been a shock. I would say that everything I’m doing is tinged with existentialism and the knowledge that everything can change in a second. I’m not sure if that’s positive or negative; it seems more neutral to me. Perhaps more of a balanced way of looking at the world. 

P: How are you able to balance feeling “productive” or purposeful with taking care of your basic needs in light of the circumstances?

Y: It’s funny you ask that. I’ve been seeing a lot of criticism around baking bread and other forms of self-care. (To me, there’s something very comforting about the act of making bread: from the beginning, seeing life bubble up in the chemistry of yeast and flour and water, to the pillowy shape it takes after proving, then seeing the finished crusty product, which feeds and sustains you.) I struggled a lot with the idea of productivity when I first started freelancing, and I feel like I’m inching closer to the realization that productivity itself is a construct—it only exists within our limited notions of what it means to produce something. Is eating not productive? Is living? And those who are unable to be “productive” by our industry and social standards—are they not also valid members of society? Once you start thinking that way, you realize productivity is something that’s been fed to you by capitalism.  In short: I try not to think about balance, and just do what feels right. I worry about finances of course, and I do work, but I try to be kind to myself when it comes to judgement and assessing day-to-day activities.

P: Is there any particular idea you have learned inside the “cocoon” of self-quarantine that you would like to take away with you when we are able to move freely again?

Y: I like being alone. I realize that when I was much younger, I enjoyed solitude—I read a lot in my room, sometimes ventured out on my own—but I was also extremely socially awkward and didn’t have many friends so didn’t have a reason to go out anyway. I conflated those two things: being lonely, and being alone. I feel like my life is just as full when I’m in my flat, in my own space, and I can reach out to people on various channels. The thing I would like to take away from this experience is that I should be more proactive in connecting with others. I like checking in on my friends, but quite often I feel like I’m bothering them; I’d like to stop thinking that way. There’s so much mutual aid and sharing happening right now, which makes me happy. It makes me believe there is a way for us all to exist without institutional oppression, on our own terms.

“gardening" bitter melon 2020

Click here to read more of Ysabelle’s work.

on routine: david moragas

David Moragas is a Barcelona-based filmmaker. We met in Brooklyn in 2019 just as he had finished his masters in New York. His feature film, A Stormy Night, was an Official Selection of the 2020 Festival de Málaga, which ended abruptly during its course due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in Spain. His short films have screened in multiple international film festivals, including Palm Springs, Inside Out Toronto and D’A Barcelona.

As of my interview with David, Spain has lost almost 23,000 people to the virus and has registered the highest number of confirmed cases in Europe, at nearly 206,000. To read more about the latest in Spain, click here.

P: Hi David, where are you? 

D: I’m in a room in Barcelona. Confined in an apartment with two other people. 

P: Could you tell me what a typical day of quarantine looks like for you right now? 

D: We try to stick to a strict schedule during the week. Waking up at nine. Lunch at two. Siesta before three. We work until around seven in the evening, and then we spend some recreational time before dinner. We share all of our meals. Go to the local market once a week. Oh, and one hour hula hoop workouts every now and then. Then Friday comes, and we allow a reasonable amount of anarchy. Those evenings we drink. We Skype our friends and family until late. Dance. Sleep until around eleven the following morning and watch plenty of movies. We skip dinner most weekends and assault the fridge later on. It’s quite lovely. Then Monday we start again. It’s been six weeks now. Time really does fly! 

P: Any go-to meal you’ve been resorting to? 

D: There is no such thing as a go-to meal when you’re locked down with three foodies in Barcelona! We’re cooking all the time. I have, however, had the exact same meal in the mornings every single day: toasted oatmeal with warm honey, strawberries, a banana and a sprinkle of cinnamon. I drink a lot of coffee. That’s a go-to! We’re brewing constantly. 

P: Have you been able to read at all? If so, what kinds of books are you reading? 

D: I have. I find myself reading a lot of theatre these days. I think there is something to the feeling of being constantly in the same space that has me reading plays. I just finished This is our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan. 

P: Has isolation and the sacrifice of movement changed your perspective on your artistic subjects or focuses?

D: I belong to what one might call the lower class spectrum / first time player in the indie filmmaking scene. I feel like I have been living with a certain amount of sacrifice throughout my career. [The sacrifice] being not being able to afford a certain kind of status quo, the struggle to grow in a career path that has always felt a little inaccessible or the challenges of making art in the first place. 

I keep reading and hearing how tragically acute the crisis will affect our industry and in a way I feel a bit alienated from this dilemma. My artistic subjects and focuses were already filtered through certain limitations and restraints; so I am not sure they’ve changed, or will change much, for now. 

P: Could you talk more about those limitations and restraints?

D: I had a good talk with one of my producer friends the other day, and we discussed the way the crisis will affect film shoots, for instance. He explained to me how it’s going to become almost impossible to manage crews larger than 30 people, multiple locations or the idea of a room filled with talent interacting closely with each other. Then he joked about the fact that most of my productions so far have taken place in very few locations, with simple storylines mostly involving three, four characters max. He thought it would be so convenient now that these creative traits will be an advantage. I thought : well yeah that’s how you pull off a micro budget movie these days anyway. 

Big-scaled productions financed by powerful studios will find their way. Sadly, it’s always the middle class of indie filmmaking that suffers. Struggling first time filmmakers will fight the crisis innovating, through radical approaches and unique ideas.

P: How are you able to balance feeling “productive” or purposeful in your personal work with taking care of your basic needs in light of the circumstances? 

D: I work as a graphic designer to pay my bills. I don’t think I have an option. There is not much to balance: either I work or I don’t eat. I understand the idea that such an extreme situation can alter someone’s creative process in a negative way. In a way, I feel as if the circumstances prior to the lockdown were already a bit challenging; the struggle to maintain focus and purpose was there. Now, it’s changed a little. But at the core of it, the worries and anxieties are pretty much the same. 

In between my graphic design work, I try to find some time to write. We just wrapped post-production on my first feature film and we were about to premiere in local film festivals. Sadly, because of the crisis every screening was cancelled. As for an international distribution, we were about to close a deal with a sales agent when the lockdown started. Needless to say, the deal was paused, until further notice. Not the best time to start distributing a movie, truly. 

P: Damn.

D: So I write. I watch movies. Collect visual references for future projects. 

I spoke to a fellow artist the other day, and she shared the dilemma of being unable to write while the world is collapsing. I envied the romanticism of that statement and for a split second wondered if there was something selfish, untruthful or even psychotic on my end. Then I paid my bills. I was weirdly reminded that, in a way: the show must go on. It has to. The engine keeps moving. Stories happen. People need stories now more than ever. Online social meetings are taking place everywhere, and it’s become palpable how much we need to share our day to day experiences to build a sense of community. That, to me, provides sense of purpose. 

I am aware of my privileges at the moment. I’m able to work from home. Barcelona is a very friendly city to experience a global pandemic. The people are very generous, and warm. You look through the window and wave at the neighbors. We go to our balconies every day at 8pm to clap and cheer for our healthcare workers. This sense of community inspires me as well.

P: Is there any particular idea you have learned inside the “cocoon” of self-quarantine that you would like to take away with you when we are able to move freely again? 

D: I am definitely a bit more aware of my sensibilities. Listen to my body a lot more. I find myself drinking lots of water. And noticing the difference. I miss being inspired by the outside world. What are people wearing these days? But then again we’re all on our comfy clothes all the time aren’t we? I’m not even wearing underpants at the moment. I think I ask myself questions I wouldn’t normally ask. I like this level of self-awareness. I’d like to maintain that, if possible. I feel like there is a certain armor you grow when facing the outside world. You have to. It can be so nasty some times! Those walls are starting to crumble. I found myself very angry at the idea of someone being rude to me, in the middle of the street, for no reason. We kind of shut those voices down, per system, on an ordinary basis, don’t we? I’d like to maintain a certain level of vulnerability. I think. Not to force it. Perhaps just being a little more protective of my being. I like the idea that in the future social distancing might become the norm. How lovely: inviting people in, as opposed to sorting each other out. Not a huge fan of crowds either.