Seeking Southeast Asians (NYC for in-person interviews, global for remote interviews) for a multimedia (video, podcast, and/or print) series on what you mourn/anticipate mourning. Participants must bring a symbol or relic representing their (anticipated) grief and be comfortable holding it for 30 seconds plus a brief interview. Can also be documented anonymously!
A Thin Veil is a series in which Southeast Asian Americans are asked to explore their relationship with grief, both current and anticipatory. Due to colonialism, state violence, migration, and socioeconomic disparity, Southeast Asians are often left with grief as a means of collecting and/or supplementing historical archives.
Participants will be asked to discuss a physical symbol of a grief they are currently or expecting to face, whether that be a letter from their parents, a screenshot of a conversation with their friend, an item of clothing, or something else entirely, and be recorded/documented holding and interacting with it for 30 seconds. Afterwards, they will be interviewed on the significance of that item and why it is a symbol of grief for them. The purpose of the project is to showcase what is generationally passed down when in constant proximity to loss.
Participants can choose whether they want their interview to be released as a video, podcast, and/or publication (print/digital TBD).
Dena Igusti 