Leading up to Pique on June 12, 2021, we are asking questions to participating artists to find out more about what they are working on for Pique and how the pandemic has affected their practice.
respectfulchild is an interdisciplinary artist born, raised, and living as an uninvited guest on Treaty 6 Territory. Their work explores the quiet tensions and chaotic beauty of being a queer Chinese settler on the prairies, ranging from spontaneous improvisation to meticulous composition.
Tell us a little bit about what your performance/artwork for Pique is going to be like?
I’m thinking of using this gradient jigsaw puzzle I borrowed from my brother and assembling it in real-time with the music reflecting the colours and pieces. Like playing with my synaesthesia (connecting the senses), in this case mostly focusing on joining sound with colour. I’m hoping (if I do a good job) that it can almost work backwards, that you don’t need to be able to see the puzzle to hear the colours and hear the pieces coming together.
How has the pandemic affected your artistic process?
I have so many things I want to say! On the admin side of things it has actually helped me be easier on myself in a lot of ways. I often felt stress and pressure before to keep up with the cycle of applications, deadlines, festivals, touring. And there was often this accompanying weight and regret if I missed anything and almost this anxiety of falling behind. I think a lot of that stems from how business oriented the industry (and also grant and program applications) can be, of needing to show how your career is advancing, progressing, and growing with numbers and accomplishments. I think I tried not to get too caught up in that, but when everyone else is also running on that hamster wheel it’s hard to not feel like you’re somehow straggling if you aren’t following that cycle as well. But now we’ve all shared in this collective pause and it feels like we’re able to choose our own pace more. So it’s been a good time to reorient my motivations, basically doing things less out of obligation and more out of desire.
I think staying at home has shifted our concept of time too and the urgency of (oftentimes, arbitrary) deadlines has softened as a result (like if something doesn’t happen by a certain date that is okay, or if you miss a date there is still a next time and that is okay too). It feels like people have become more flexible and understanding which has also helped with the immediacy that was creating a lot of that stress and pressure. It’s almost like a lot more people have gained empathetic insight that it’s hard to prioritize answering e-mails when your mental health isn’t doing well or something.
On the creative and artistic side, because of all this extra time I have at home I’ve allowed myself to try a lot of new things and really stretch myself. It was like, “Well, I have time, why not build a sculpture or write a short story?” Again, I think I felt some pressure before to focus only on writing music, so that I could record, release, perform, tour, rinse, repeat. I also find it pretty hard to create anything while touring, even though you technically have lots of idle time on the road or in airports. It’s hard to get in the right headspace to organize my thoughts and experiment in the same way as I do at home. I’m truly a homebody so this has been really nice, and I’ve discovered new things about myself!
What are you listening to/watching/reading right now?
Honestly, I’m currently very invested in this Kpop competition show called Kingdom: Legendary War. It’s 6 already established groups putting on these performances that completely overstimulate my brain. They go all out with a concept, recording, costumes, make-up, props, choreo, visual effects, stunts.. It’s maybe my favorite pandemic adaptation that I’ve seen..I think there was an earlier season of the show that happened on stage with a live audience, but now it happens in a studio where they’re able to build multiple sets and have more movement with the camera to create an immersive experience. It’s obviously operating on a very different level than I am haha, but I find it fascinating the effort they pour into this weekly affair to make engaging content for the viewers at home.
If you could get one idea, feeling, or message across with your work, what would it be?
I would say connectedness, the reminder that things that feel separate can actually be very connected. It’s a straightforward example with the puzzle and colours, but I’ve also been thinking about this lots with things like the colonial gender binary and my classical music training, or my connection with ancestors and future generations. I know connection is something most of us have been seeking more of throughout this pandemic and I think seeing and feeling more of even the smallest connections around us will help strengthen our bonds with each other and with the land too.
What are you looking forward to this summer?
Girls Rock Camp Saskatoon! I’m on the programming committee for camp and we’ve done a lot of adapting due to the ever changing situation and restrictions with COVID-19. Camp can’t happen in the usual format of instrument lessons and rock bands this year, so we’ve shifted gears to focus more on workshops and musical team building. We’re already seeing that this change is welcoming new and different youth who maybe didn’t gel with the typical rock camp format of being loud so I’m really excited to see how camp week unfolds. I really love and appreciate the space we have for collective creative problem solving within the GRC family!
Visit thisispique.com to check out the program, buy a pay-what-you-can ticket, and learn more.
Find out more about respectfulchild, and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
Check out our blog and Instagram reels for more interviews with artists participating in Pique on June 12, 2021.