Collected Item: “Gan Oral History, 2021/05/07”
Title
Interview with artist and musician gan, aka respectfulchild
Who conducted the interview? List all names, separated by comma.
Kit Heintzman
Who was interviewed? List all names, separated by commas.
Jelly Gan
Email Address(es) for all interviewers. Separated by comma.
kheintzman@gmail.com
Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your oral history. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?
#agender, #AntiAsianracism, #art, #artist, #Asian, #Canadian, #ChineseCanadian, #DIY, #eatingdisorder, #immigrant, #livestream, #masks, #music, #musician, #parents, #queer, #racism, #roommates, #Saskatchewan, #Saskatoon, #transphobia, #vaccine, #writer, #zombies
What is the format of your recording?
Video
In what ZIP code is the primary residence of the interviewee? (enter 5-digit ZIP code; for example, 00544 or 94305)? In what city/town/village does the interviewee live? In what country does the interviewee live? All comma-separated.
South-East Asian
What is the gender of the interviewee? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their gender in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a gender identity to interviewees.*
agender, they/them
What is the age of the interviewee?
25 to 34
How does the interviewee describe their race or ethnicity? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their race/ethnicity in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a racial or ethnic identity to interviewees.*
Other cultural references include: The Juno Awards, SOCAN, Rae Spoon, British Comedy Shows, Girls Rock Camp
Describe the oral history.
“I go by gan. I identify as agender, or just like don’t identify with any gender. I am 30-years-old. I am Chinese-Malaysian. My parents are immigrants from Malaysia, so I’m first or second generation, however people classify that. I’m a settler on indigenous land. And I have somehow become a full time musician/artist and it’s a very permeable kind of space, but I’ve moved between doing musical performance, composition, some sorts of writing or like installation kinds of things; it’s just a very open space to explore. My upbringing was in a mostly middle class kind of family. My dad is a civil engineer, I would say in my childhood we were much more strapped for money than we are now, and a big part of that is because of his education. And, my mom is a homemaker. I have one older brother as well, who works in chemistry and lab technology.” Additional comment from email correspondence: "My dad's side is Hokkien, my mom's side is Hakka"
Some of the things we discussed include:
The normal life cycle of releasing music and how the pandemic interrupted that
Gallery exhibition
Lots of travel pre-pandemic followed by the shift in 2020 career plans, canceling tours in Canada and Europe
The difference between live performances and live streaming
Shifting timelines in the pandemic and how arbitrary deadlines are
Becoming desensitized to the pandemic
Reference points from zombies and dystopias
Negative encounters with health care professionals, avoiding doctors and therapists, poor access to therapy, and the consequences of medical avoidance
The importance of medical and scientific literacy
The harm of being misgendered
Eating disorders and fatphobia
Being a part of the care community of a friend with cancer during the pandemic
Being single at the beginning of the pandemic and becoming more in touch with the body
The intensity of living with a roommate during lockdown
Masks as a physical representation of asserted boundaries
How disconnected a globalized world can still feel
Avoiding news and social media
Saskatchewan’s re-opening
Parents getting vaccinated
Indigenous people, Wet'suwet'en pipeline protests
A deeper history of anti-Asian racism in Canada
Canada’s financial policies during the pandemic: CERB
Universal Basic Income
The pandemic and a collective awakening
See also:
https://respectfulchild.com
https://respectfulchild.bandcamp.com
https://thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/local-arts/creative-isolation-saskatoon-musician-respectfulchild-takes-new-approach-with-remai-art-installation
Some of the things we discussed include:
The normal life cycle of releasing music and how the pandemic interrupted that
Gallery exhibition
Lots of travel pre-pandemic followed by the shift in 2020 career plans, canceling tours in Canada and Europe
The difference between live performances and live streaming
Shifting timelines in the pandemic and how arbitrary deadlines are
Becoming desensitized to the pandemic
Reference points from zombies and dystopias
Negative encounters with health care professionals, avoiding doctors and therapists, poor access to therapy, and the consequences of medical avoidance
The importance of medical and scientific literacy
The harm of being misgendered
Eating disorders and fatphobia
Being a part of the care community of a friend with cancer during the pandemic
Being single at the beginning of the pandemic and becoming more in touch with the body
The intensity of living with a roommate during lockdown
Masks as a physical representation of asserted boundaries
How disconnected a globalized world can still feel
Avoiding news and social media
Saskatchewan’s re-opening
Parents getting vaccinated
Indigenous people, Wet'suwet'en pipeline protests
A deeper history of anti-Asian racism in Canada
Canada’s financial policies during the pandemic: CERB
Universal Basic Income
The pandemic and a collective awakening
See also:
https://respectfulchild.com
https://respectfulchild.bandcamp.com
https://thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/local-arts/creative-isolation-saskatoon-musician-respectfulchild-takes-new-approach-with-remai-art-installation
On what date did you record this oral history?
2021-05-07