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Hello from the other side.

To you reading this, I'd just like to congratulate you on making it through. 

It's been a year since I last sent this out. I'm in Singapore, where I've been for far too long. It's a bit of an anomaly here; restaurants are open, live performances are starting to be put on again... It doesn't feel similar to what most of the world seems to be like. But I'd like to add a caveat that this bubble also feels like it might pop any time. Its sheer size warrants an interdependency that means we will reach our limits in the race to normalcy. The only question is when. But what do I really know; I'm an artist with an undergraduate international relations degree of which I have a vague memory. Something something realism in a neo-liberal world order something something.

Like many humans, I was in self-preservation mode for much of the year. I struggled with the idea of productivity and what it meant to sustain a practice when even the thought of abiding by pre-pandemic norms seemed violent. I don't know about you, but there were (many) days when I could barely form thoughts. My brain felt short-circuited. Engaging deeply felt important but strenuous, and I felt the need to choose gentleness on myself. I just tried to be a helpful human being whenever I could.

I spent a lot of my time paring my life down to corporealities. I went on as many walks as I could. I cycled. I did yoga and pilates every day (I have biceps now, mmkay). These actions, rooted in the sensorial, helped me get outside the cloistered room of my head. Also, I learned never to underestimate the power of love and friendship. I hope you have this around you too.


 
In spite of the year, there were moments in my career which I am grateful for. Here are some highlights:
It sounds like a lot, but a lot also went by in a blur. Nonetheless, yes I am thankful. In addition to photography, I began to direct performances and films. It's quite a milestone.

I'm looking at the next phase of my career, now that I can finally feel my brain functioning, drawing new linkages in nourishing ways. While nothing is set in stone, I've been looking at issues of the body, Internet culture, affect and emotion, and intimate counter-narratives. 

Sitting on the edges of genres might seem a little tricky at first. But the place between research and commerce, criticality and sheen, sees everything as a tool while itself remaining beyond full grasp, and that is very much our world. 

These are a lot of words. Here are some of my images I recently compiled. <
Before I end, here's some material that helped me through the year:
  • Glitch Feminism by Legacy Russell
  • The Tensorate Series by Neon Yang
  • Eating Chilli Crab in the Anthropocene edited by Matthew Schneider-Mayerson
  • Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
  • How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell
  • The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel A. van der Kolk
  • Serpentine Podcast 
I'll leave you here, until next time. Should I be more regular? Are there certain topics you'd like me to cover? Are there questions I've left unanswered? Don't forget to leave a comment and smash that Like button! Just kidding. Just email me.

I do mean it though; reach out anytime. The world burns, and all we can offer is a little attention.

Love,
Charmaine
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Charmaine Poh · Primz Bizhub, 21 Woodlands Close · Singapore 737854 · Singapore

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