State of disaster
With her year abroad derailed, producer Helen Randall offers a snapshot of her ‘very small existence’ under Melbourne’s austere Covid-19 restrictions
Fig. 1 To Do List, Johnny Cash. As the days all blur together, if I can remember to do even just a few of these things, it is definitely a good day. (Photography Julien’s Auctions Beverly Hills)
I moved from London to Melbourne in November 2019 and quickly fell into my usual pattern, working non-stop and being consumed by projects, not leaving much time for anything else. There was no building relationships or exploring the wider state and country, but that was OK, I reasoned. My project contract ended in mid-March, and I’d catch up then — meet new people, build a social circle, travel to Japan, see as much of Australia as possible.
And then, like many people, my plans and ideas went out the window with the start of lockdown in March. We had a few scant weeks of easing in June, when we could see some friends and go to the pub for a meal, but then it was straight back into the most extreme lockdown in Australia.
A “state of disaster,” curfews, mandatory masks everywhere, hefty fines, continued border closures, rising infection numbers. Despite Stage 4 restrictions originally set to end on September 14, there’s still no real end in sight.
So I am perhaps not best placed for a true dispatch from Melbourne in this time. My world is restricted to the walls of my house, the immediate streets, long-distance calls to family and friends in Europe, and a handful of acquaintances here.
It’s a very small existence in such uncertain times, and in a city I was still only just beginning to make a home. All I can offer up is a snapshot of my tiny world and a mix of things I’ve been thinking about as I try to take things day by day and construct new plans.
Helen Randall is a producer working in the world of commercials, animation and design and travelling as much as she can. She returned to London in September 2020.
Fig. 2 Very lucky to have a lovely garden in my house and be in the nice neighbourhood of Carlton North. Being outside as much as possible and really using the one-hour exercise allowance to get out and walk the streets is a god send. Keeping within the allowed 5 km radius. Randonautica has been my go-to for finding new places and giving me a random destination to mix up the routes. (Photography Helen Randall)
Fig. 3 “One Sings, the Other Doesn’t” (1977), directed by Agnès Varda
Fig. 5 Duvet days and lots of phone calls. (L-R): “Polly Mellen” (1999) by Mark Borthwick; My very recognisable lobster phone case; Catrinel Menghia for Aubade Bella Diva Agenda 2009.
“To move forward, we need new values for the way we think about our jobs, ourselves, and, crucially, our relationship to each other. This starts with letting go of the work ethic - an unquestioning, deeply ingrained belief in work’s inherent moral value - and replacing it with an ethics of work to guide our efforts in a new and uncertain world.”
Fig. 4 “Work Ethics: 20 Ideas for 2020 and Beyond” by Phoebe Lovatt
Fig. 6 I was fortunate to meet Tela and buy one of her great blankets when I was in Argentina last year. Her simple colour block masks and hats (as worn by Pía Ciano) are a nice combo to add to the growing mask rotation and collection. (Photography @tela______/ @drulich_)
Fig. 7 It’s time to re-evaluate work, and as someone very guilty of identifying myself via my career and productivity, Phoebe Lovatt’s “Work Ethics” seems like a good place to start. Organised around five key principles — freedom, care, simplicity, service and creativity — “Work Ethics” offers a framework for thinking about the real work that the world is asking of us right now.
