This is a MCO project that I made with a whole bunch of friends.
It feels like the world is literally on fire right now. With the pandemic as the overarching flame spreading like wildfire all over the world, other pre-existing issues for every country is coming out of the flames too. Just like how the virus is more dangerous to individuals with pre-existing medical conditions, I feel like the virus is bringing out all of the pre-existing issues that has plagued all of the different humans of the world in the different countries.
From political instability, systemic racial issues to economical inequality - everything is being laid bare. It's hard to take it all in, keep a cool head and try to focus on what we can do about it sometimes. So that's why I did this project, "Wear a Mask". This is my small contribution to trying to spread some positive vibes to the world.
I launched myself into this project during the early stages of the Malaysian Movement Control Order (MCO), this was my first post about it. The concept is inspired by 'Wear Sunscreen', the successful spoken word song released in 1999 featuring Baz Luhrmann.
I compiled a bunch of questions, and sent it to all of my creative friends on my contact list. From actors, writers, directors, artists, singers and everyone in between, I asked them to give me short answers to -
What do you fear?
What do you love?
What are you thankful for?
What is your hope for the future?
What is the one thing you'd like to say to all Malaysians?
Based on all the answers I received, I tried my best to summarise and actually include their exact words into the song, where possible.
I would like to say a big thank you to Nick Davis for letting me use his song and helping me to mix my VO recording to an adjusted version of his song. Do like his FB page, check out his music at bandcamp and also subscribe to his Youtube channel.
And to all my contributors who allowed me to give them a credit, I could not have written this without your contributions!
Ellyne Lamin | Ian Chow | Tapai | Alex Chua | Su San | Visshnu Varman | Anrie Too | Ling | 'WithloveMalaysia' | UiHua | Varun | Jasmine Kaar | Joseph Gonzales | Chi Hoe Mak | effadesa | yonlynn | Calvin Tan Han Jin | Juliana Ibrahim | Joel Wong | Chrystal Foo | Wendy Wong | Ho Lee Ching | Honey Ahmad | Chi Ho | Elvira Arul
Like I said in the video, reading all their answers made me feel less alone. Made me feel a little more hopeful so that I can redirect my energy towards things that I can do to get out of this better. Thank you.
For those of you who are willing to listen and share the video, thank you to you too. I hope our words made you feel a little bit better.
Here are a collection of pictures that the contributors submitted in response to the questions that they answered. The pictures helped me feel what they feel about family, friends and the world. Ultimately, I got a sneak peek into their fears, what they love & feel thankful for and a little bit about their hopes. These are the pictures they allowed me to share :
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