tinyletter #3 | lenormand, mural painting & love letters
This is an archive copy of a tinyletter from 2022, for the complete newsletter with images and links, please view the original archive.
Hello friends, hope you've been keeping well in March. I've personally had a rather rough one, having caught the fifth wave covid in late February (am planning to do a little log of the experience at some point), but I did still manage to have a wonderful birthday spent with family and friends –– that became a little highlight in March for me <3
However, before I jump into my updates, the Hong Kong government has recently announced a relaxation of flight bans (including US, UK, and Canada) starting on April 1 so we are assuming international airmail will return to normal very soon after! For those still waiting on their packages and orders, I will mail them out as soon as possible.
And now to the updates~
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It really doesn't need much introduction, as I haven't shut up about it. But we are currently over 151% funded for The Gwai Lenormand!! There are only two weeks left for the campaign so do remember to pledge your own copy of the deck before it's over!
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I've also been selected to participate in the mentorship programme organised by HKwalls this year and have been meeting with my mentor Carol Mui (no relation there though) to learn all about scaling and painting a real mural! The 'wall' is 2m x 5.6m and we'll be working at the Hong Kong Observation Wheel. Look at how big the piece is!
This will be my biggest piece yet, so I'm really excited to get cracking on it! I also can't believe that my goal of working 'big' is being met so early in the year already! I cannot wait to share more of the progress with you -- will be uploading time-lapses and whatnot on my Instagram :)
The walls will be displayed in public after 21 April, which is when the observation wheel reopens!
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things I've been obsessed with this month!
Due to my family catching the virus with me, control over our television was given to my mom and we ended up watching a whole list of prison-related films from the 90s including Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Sleepers, all in return for my one viewing of Pride and Prejudice (which if you've known me long enough, I once watched daily).
HOWEVER, we did manage to watch six viewings (back to back) of Pixar's Turning Red, which is honestly my favourite thing right now. I was not a tween in the early 2000s nor am I part of the asian diaspora, but the movie somehow still sums up a girl's teenage years perfectly. From just the visuals of the fluffy red pandas to the fact that the mom just nonchalantly listed all of the period products, to Abby's ferocious gremlin energy, to just the depiction of how relationships with your parents can be messy and exhausting but still a loving and constantly growing one, Turning Red was the chef's kiss.
My one and only other obsession is the book Impossible City written by Karen Cheung.
A beautiful, heart-wrenching, and brutally honest account of what it's like to live in Hong Kong as a twenty-something-year-old, and how one navigates living in this city that is constantly in conflict with itself. Essentially, this is a love letter to Hong Kong.
While her experiences are not the same as everyone who lives here (obviously), her writing will remind Hong Kongers how we manage to still love a city that never seems to serve us, and provide an intimate lens for those who don't know what it's like to be a part of the city. It's also taken way too long for us to finally have an English book written by a local Hong Konger about Hong Kong.
I'm horrible at writing reviews, but I haven't read anything else this year and I've already read this book six times and cried each time. This is the book I will bring away with me when I leave this city, to explain to my future children what my home city once was. While I am friends with Karen, I've always loved her writing which has been published in the New York Times, The Offing, Foreign Policy, and more. Karen's always written honestly, with a lyrical, musing quality (she describes as TMI) that pulls you into her memories with her.
The book is currently available for purchase!
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Another life update is that I'll be running off to Dublin in late April (for a visit, haha). I'm off to find my long-distance partner who I've been separated from for over 9 months now. To say that I'm looking forward to the trip is an understatement.
Anyway, I hope you're all doing well.
Lots of love,
Charlotte