The plan was to make a pitstop in Kuala Lumpur. Take a week or two to reset, recharge and backup all the interviews and photos before setting off again, back to Borneo, for another story-gathering trip for the third issue, Water.
As with the rest of the world, I thought ‘next week’ was going to be just another week. Two weeks ended up turning into nearly five months (i.e. today). And in a mishap-free and predictable world, by now, the third issue of Plates would have been on its way out to readers.
On March 16, Malaysia announced a nationwide lockdown. Schools and businesses were ordered to shut; inter-state and international borders closed.
In the early stages of the lockdown, I did think about pushing this issue to be released in place of the fourth issue. Since the majority of the key stories for Plates came from the field, desktop research was not an option. I didn’t want to publish for the sake of publishing. I didn’t want to publish just to meet a self-set deadline. I didn’t want to publish simply to have a tangible product to deliver to the INXO Arts Fund, who kindly provided a grant that helped subsidise the initial cost of putting together the Water issue. (Thankfully, in response to the pandemic, they announced an extension for all 2019/2020 Art Fund grantees.)
But at the core of it, such a practice simply went against the concept of the magazine as a collectable biannual publication and not a monthly throwaway; hoping to make up for any shortcomings in the next month.
I ‘d like to think that I put together each issue as if it were my last. Morbid? Perhaps. But it helps me stay true to the editorial direction of Plates, which is to fill it to the brim (or page-count) with evergreen stories and to provide a platform to tell and retell existing issues in marginalised communities, so often overlooked by mainstream media outlets because of its unsaleability. Because the advertisers wouldn’t be happy. Because the investors wouldn’t like it. Because it was “too out there” or “too much”.
So, while the news wires and every other let’s-have-a-webinar-because-Covid-event, had nothing new to add to the conversation, and was on loop 24/7, drowning out the other pressing issues that deserve our attention (e.g. poverty, sanitation, corruption and the climate emergency), I was faced with a dilemma: do I go ahead and work on the Water issue as planned, or do I put it on ice and push it out in place of the fourth issue?
Back in March/April, it was a decision in progress. When the lockdown was enforced, I had maybe less than half of the overall content in audio recordings, transcripts and photographs. The remainder was pinned on an outstanding story (since killed due to the Movement Control Order) and ongoing conversations with potential contributors.
Internal debate aside, I didn’t want to invest time and money publishing a half-assed magazine that I wouldn’t be proud of. And, I wasn’t sure if the stories I already had on hand, or the ones that were in the process of being commissioned would meet the mark or the deadlines.
It was also a risk to sign on contributors, who specialised in their own fields (e.g such as fine arts, research, consultancy and advocacy) to do something (i.e write for a magazine) that was out of their usual day-to-day professions, and especially knowing that the virus could hit anyone at any time.
I personally reached out to them because I was attracted to their work in cultural preservation and their curiosity. I knew the stories were there and had to do my part of prodding and convincing as well as help provide an alternative platform for them to articulate their passions. (Spoiler alert: the contributors outdid themselves tremendously and delivered wholeheartedly despite the various and individually unique roadblocks along the way as a result of the lockdown.)
There were many other issues with producing Vol.3: Water while in quarantine. It’s a bit long to add here, so I will elaborate the specifics in next week’s post, here in the (revived) Dispatches section of the website.
Until then, stay safe. Be well.
P/S I’m pleased to announce that Plates, Vol.3: Water is now available for pre-order. (Early bird special ends July 31.) If you’re interested, more details here.
