BREATHING SPACE
With support from Creative New Zealand
“Artists in the industry right now may have gone on pause, a well deserved breather, or have kept working through the lockdown, but, at the end of the day, we are all still people. I want to unravel what makes people - human. We are all human with and without our art.” - Marianne Infante
Welcome to Breathing Space - a series of short interviews filmed in 2020 with Asian creatives about not-making, reconnecting with our humanity, and re-evaluating our relationships as artists to self.
Produced & Hosted by Marianne Infante Illustrations by Marc Conaco
Edited by Alyssa Medel & John Rata Music by John Rata
Ep 1: James Roque
James Roque rocks his Covid-19 haircut, talks about escaping the confrontations of lockdown through relaxation, gaming (specifically Animal Crossing) and appreciating the fact he is not a "trash cook".
James Roque is a co-founder of PAT, also a comedian, writer and director. He is one third of comedy group Frickin Dangerous Bro and directed PATs 2019 play PINAY.
Ep 2: Roseanne Liang
Film director, Roseanne Liang, reflects on her privilege as a working mum and artist during the lockdown (Level 4), confesses bubble-tea is a real obsession and how ‘doing-nothing’ comes with a feeling of unease.
Ep 3: Cassandra Tse
Cassandra Tse, joined us during lockdown level 4 and shares what it’s like being an anxious cat as well as a murder mystery party writer. Thank you for sharing your breathing space with us, Cassandra.
Ep 4: John Rata
Our very own, John Rata, gets very real about what the creative lifestyle means for him, the value of being in lockdown with his family and his gratitude towards his artistic pursuits.
John Rata is an Auckland-based Filipino creative and current Co-Producer for PAT's Fresh off the Page and Fresh Develeopments programmes. John is also a writer, director, photographer & videographer.
Ep 5: Mel Odedra
“It’s quite cool time at the moment…[Lockdown] allows me to centre myself a lot, and find out where I’m from, who I am and where I want to go.”
Mel Odedra talks about being surrounded by nature, his acres of fields and bush, and how well prepared he and his family is for Covid-19’s (Level 4) restrictions and isolation.
Ep 6: Celine Dam
Celine Dam was BORED but caffeinated during the lockdown!
She was also happily experimenting with her cooking, and glad to be back in Auckland with her family during NZ’s national level 4 lockdown.
Ep 7: Natasha Daniel
Natasha shares her continual exploration of what her breathing space looks like; from leaving drama school to settling into lockdown, to baby-preparation days.
Ep8: Mustaq Missouri
For episode 8, Mustaq Missouri dives into memories and writing as relief and a distraction. He explores how the lockdown encouraged him to come to terms and reconnect with his South Asian heritage, Singaporean roots, with the Indian, Muslim and Malay sides of him.
Ep9: Nahyeon Lee
Lockdown was a scary period but also grounding. Nahyeon talks about being more aware that we are living within a system that is anxiety inducing for a creative. However, the lockdown has also given her the mental space to reflect, clarify what's important and figure compromises needed to feed her life’s creative hunger.
Ep10: Josh Tan
Young actor, Josh Tan, talks about being lazy, being a shy musician, and a game-maker who attempted to build an empire during lockdown. Despite finding it easy transitioning into isolation, he finds that his breathing space allowed him to be more self-aware
Ep11: David Correos
Filipino comedian and actor, David Correos, shares what he was like to live with during lockdown. He talks about learning how to be a house husband, being a good flatmate, puppeteering a dead fish and his reflections regarding his creative process.
Ep12: Jess Hong
“Even if you are in a safe place with a roof over your head. It’s okay to feel shit and tomorrow might be better. Who knows.”
Jess Hong shares her highs and lows during the strange times the lockdown presented. She’s come to the conclusion that she doesn’t know who she is when her craft is on pause, facing the difficulty of sitting in her own thoughts and reverting to her thirteen year-old self.
Ep13: Marwin Silerio
Actor and lifestyle transformation coach — Marwin SIlerio — talked about going back to the simple things in life, yarning with other professionals, and collaborating with siblings during the lockdown. Prioritising rest and recovery actually meant he became more creative.
“Once the creative stuff was taken away from me, it was actually given, because I had more time and space… It was a reverse.”
Ep 14: Ahi Karunaharan
“Work has been a big part of defining who I am as a person…”
Ahi Karunaharan talks about his continuous exploration of who he is in the midst of the lockdown, his need to keep generating work modelling his parent’s hustle and ways of working whilst he was growing up and his reflection on the purpose of art in our lives.
Ep 15: Renee Liang
Writer, mother and essential worker, Renee Liang, lives a triple-life during Level 4 lockdown. She shares her pressed leaves and flowers with us and talks about appreciating the extra time she was given to reconnect with her family and enjoy the company of her little ones.
Ep 16: Teresa Lee
Teresa Lee thrives in solo living and was very proactive in being virtually in touch with her social circle.
“Without art, life is terribly boring.”
Lockdown encouraged her to join the Netflix community, to reflect on her creative expressions and what art meant for her.
Ep 17: Amanda Grace Leo
Amanda Grace Leo talked about indulging in her hobbies, Marie-Kondo-ing her space and mindfully practicing yoga and wellness from a POC perspective were some of the things that filled her time and space during lockdown.
“Who I am outside of my craft or stepping back from my craft is someone who really likes to look at wellness, inner work and healing.”
Ep 18: Xana Tang
Xana Tang talks about self-isolation and in that nurturing her learning space whilst being a “lazy slob”. She connects with her inner child by allowing “whatever [her] heart, space or soul wants to feel that day and [she’d] let it do its thing” including letting off steam by giving her inner child the space to have a tantrum.
Ep 19: Alyssa Medel
In Level 2, Alyssa talks about what lockdown was like for her, trying to write, consciously generating ideas and reflecting on her identity as an individual. On top of being a mindful artist, she continuous to be a big sister who cooks and nurtures the people in her bubble during these weird transitional times.
Ep 20: Nikita Tu-Bryant
For our second to last episode, we are joined by wonderful Nikita Tu-Bryant! She talks about lockdown being an enlightening time for her as an artist as it highlighted the whole process of what it means to be a creative.
“Being creative is living creatively… There’s so much in the process that is from our life experiences.”
Nikita also talks about the importance of Breathing Space, burn-out culture, how she is her own-task-master, being present and doing the things she loves to do… Thank you for sharing your Breathing Space with us, Nikita!
Ep 21: Chye-Ling Huang & Marianne Infante