ROISIN TAPPONI, London at Contact Agency
reflecting isolation
F WORD: How have you been dealing with the whole isolation thing?
ROISIN TAPPONI: I had been self-isolating for two weeks before the official lockdown, the fear of infecting others has been playing on my anxiety. We all miss our friends (that goes without saying) but thank God for phones. I've been doing regular calls with friends and family across the globe to make sure everyone else is OK!
F WORD: What have you been doing to occupy your time and mind?
ROISIN TAPPONI: Aside from working remotely (I am a journalist and curator), I’ve been using the extra time to write my thesis, on representations of Gulf War landscapes in female Arab essay film. Cool model girl stuff.
F WORD: How are you feeling about the COVID-19 pandemic?
ROISIN TAPPONI: I hope this is an opportunity to dismantle the fast-paced logic of late capitalism.
F WORD: What are your thoughts on how our government and the world is dealing with it?
ROISIN TAPPONI: I am glad the UK has finally gone into lockdown. My dad is on the frontline as an NHS doctor, so I have vicariously been keeping tabs on local and national policies relating to healthcare. I hope the government are finally realising the importance of our healthcare system and will enact the appropriate measures that are needed to sustain it during the pandemic.
F WORD: What would be your perfect soundtrack for this time?
ROISIN TAPPONI: I’ve been listening to a lot to Robbie Basho, riding out the apocalypse to folk music seems the least stressful way to do it.
F WORD: Can you suggest a movie/series/or book we should check out during isolation?
ROISIN TAPPONI: Love at the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is an appropriate read for these times, it’s a popular magical realist text exploring the possibilities of love during a viral epidemic. A hot read for dry times.
F WORD: A hopeful statement to encourage others:
ROISIN TAPPONI: Slow down – embrace the fact that rest, recovery and reflection can be the greatest forms of productivity.
F WORD: Favourite f-word:
ROISIN TAPPONI: Funghi.
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