Is your city enforcing self-isolation?
Supamodu’s HQ is in NYC, but our contributors are also based in Moscow, Paris, and San Francisco. All of these cities are now under various stages of lockdown, depending on where they stand with the pandemic.
But whatever the government’s provisions, we’re all trying to keep a low profile, and only go out for short periods for a little workout, or to buy essentials.
This led us to think: the ability to self-isolate depends a lot on the person’s economic and social situation.
In some of our recent explorations, we encountered a bunch of them. And now we get to wonder: what would it be like for them to quarantine?
Some, like the incarcerated, don’t have the privilege of self-isolation at all.
Relying on your neighbors might become your only source of strength in the trying times.
It may seem that recluses are best suited for self-isolation, but then the inability to access some form of mutual aid might be detrimental.
Let’s take a look at some ecosystems and speculate how those living in them could adapt.
Our map for the week:
Being an inmate in a detention facility is a terrible threat to someone’s emotional health and well-being on its own. Now add a pandemic to the equation. This fascinating novel about a woman in a GULAG camp gives plenty of insights into what it takes to survive through calamity when freedom is limited.
A forceful, award-winning and debate-sparking debut novel about life in Gulag through the eyes of a diverse cast of characters, with fierce but timid Tatar woman at the forefront
Densely packed suburbs are where you can’t exist without communal spirit. And while the sense of community can be incredibly helpful in times of crisis, it can also endanger those within an ecosystem, and make them vulnerable to outside forces, be it the disease—or the police. “Les Misérables” is a picture of Paris in a communal crisis that doesn’t have anything to do with the pandemic lockdown of today, but explores the city’s cache of solidarity in a meaningful way.
FROM FRANCE:
The Throbbing Heart of Unrest in the French Suburbs—‘Les Misérables’, dir. Ladj Ly, 2019
A meticulous fictional inquiry into the incendiary social politics of Parisian suburbs in feature debut from a man who has experienced the 2005 Paris uprising in his backyard
Antiguan artist Frank Walter’s legacy is a breath-taking story of a man who had to self-isolate because society didn’t get him and his convictions. And then it was discovered that in his solitude, he created a massive amount of brilliant artworks. Read up for inspiration and consider making use of your time away from the world to become a Venice Biennale-worthy self-taught artist who survived the Coronavirus by being smart and resourceful.
FROM ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA:
Frank Walter, A Reclusive Antiguan Eccentric Who Became an Art Sensation After He Died
Frank Walter spent his life creating a vibrant body of work that reimagined the existing social order. Posthumously, his art is a revitalizing deconstruction of race, history and the universe
What comforts us personally in the times of self-isolation, is the realization that the whole world is currently united by the need to do this.
Surely, if you’re in China, you might already be returning to normal life.
If you’re in Italy, you’re sharply aware that you’re not out of the woods yet.
And in some countries, like the US, the realization of the pandemic’s gravity might still be lost on you.
Wherever you are, now is the time to consider how your life and actions might influence the world around you.
And if you need to feel closer to other parts of it, you know we’re here to help with that.
Stay safe.
Hope you enjoy Supamodu and feel compelled to forward this email to your friends.
Thank you for being with us! 💛
— Katya Kazbek,
editor-in-chief
