Letter from the editors: It’s time to talk about money
Photography Pauline Bernfeld
As the pandemic slashes incomes, we’re re-evaluating our definitions of work and value
By Allyssia Alleyne and Maddalena Vatti
Everyone wants to talk about work, but no one wants to talk about money. Ask an acquaintance about their projects, their romantic lives, their mental health, and they’ll open up to you without thinking twice, but ask them about their monthly take-home, and there’s that moment of hesitation. Talking about money is awkward, it’s tacky.
But under current circumstances, who can afford to keep quiet? The pandemic has forced us all to reckon with the fact that, while a lot of us may live the same lifestyle, our financial circumstances – the lifeblood that makes our creative work and social lives possible – can differ greatly.
We confront that discrepancy within our own household every day. Of the 20 people currently under our roof, four are full-time employees working from home; seven are self-employed and continuing business as usual; three are furloughed; and seven are out of work. Some of us have seen our incomes untouched. Others haven’t received a pay cheque (universal credit excluded) in months. Around the kitchen table, we’re as likely to hear a moan about the stress of a looming deadline as a tense discussion about whether someone will be able to pay next month’s rent.
Conversations about money are also, inevitably, discussions about work and value, and under lockdown, many of us are reevaluating our definitions of both. Running this magazine from our shared studio space, we’ve watched our friends turn wood scraps into shelves, grow a vegetable garden in the skeleton of an old sofa, and pour over film developed in bathroom sinks. When money is off the table, we’re reminded that something doesn’t have to be paid to be worthwhile.
“Now that money has been taken out of the equation, I get to choose what I spend my days doing, and this feels liberating,” writes Emma Burnison, a recently unemployed set designer.
It’s with this in mind that we’ve compiled a broad slate of stories about work, value and money for our second issue. In a candid interview, East London illustrator and provocateur Mr Bingo – who describes himself as “one of those rare and fortunate people who has a life that’s 100% prepped to carry on almost as usual during a global pandemic” – explains how he’s using his position to benefit the NHS. Lifelong cynic and underpaid freelancer Sian O’Gorman reports on her attempt to find rent money through positive thinking. Photographer Dan Knott explores the blurred lines between our professional selves and our private ones, now that our homes and workplaces are one and the same. And in our first short story, Andrew Arnett looks at how wealth and privilege provide the ultimate escape hatch in times of crisis. (This was pre-Dominic Cummings.)
We hope you’ll take the time to enjoy these stories and the others in this issue, and discuss the themes at their heart with your own circle – or with us! As always, our inbox and DMs are open and we’d love to hear your thoughts.
In solidarity and isolation,
Allyssia + Maddalena
