COVID-19 City Tales — A Year Later: New York. “I definitely focus more on supporting sustainable processes and local businesses since the start of the pandemic.”
Another conversation with… Mark, 27, Photographer, Brooklyn. Not in lockdown.
Firstly, how are you? How is your mental health doing? I’m honestly doing ok for the most part. It’s more the transition back into socialized society that gives me a bit of anxiety, although I am looking forward to it. My partner and I have been a great means of support for one another through this past year.
Are you still in some sort of lockdown? What are the rules in your region? We’re currently not in lockdown, able to move freely but must wear masks and try to social distance. My partner and I actually got COVID last month and had to quarantine for 14 days.
How has your personal life changed since we spoke? I got married! Work has been somewhat slow as a freelancer, but it’s picking up again. Despite having our small wedding ceremony at home, we’ve still been mostly avoiding major social situations until we’re fully vaccinated.
How has your relationship with the space and area you live in changed after a year? We moved into our new apartment during the peak of COVID in NYC last April. Over the past year, we’ve really settled in and spent a lot of time making our home our own special dwelling.
Are you vaccinated? If not, do you think you’ll get a vaccine soon? Not vaccinated yet, but hope to soon! NYC opens up vaccination for everyone starting April 6th.
What was the most infuriating aspect of how the pandemic crisis was handled? There were just so many people that didn’t take it seriously from the beginning. People in NYC refused to wear masks at first and it was really infuriating how people could be so careless and inconsiderate to others more vulnerable.
Do you think we’ve learnt anything from it? I think we’ve learned how fucked up our government processes are through this. And also how people in this country only truly care about something if it directly affects them. There’s a major lack of empathy towards others.
Did you have any major realisation, can be personal or as a society? I definitely focus more on supporting sustainable processes and local businesses since the start of the pandemic. It’s been really amazing buying things for our apartment and our wedding and working only with local shops and vendors to meet our needs and style.
What is the first thing you want to do when lockdown is officially over?Fly to Chile with my family and have a huge marriage celebration over there with my husband’s family.
Lastly, if you had to choose, which song or album has gotten you through this year? My husband and I have both obsessively listened to French musician Oklou’s album Galore. To the point we’re actually sick of it now, haha.
