"As two 'future shocked' individuals, we find comfort in sharing our lived experiences and skill sets, allowing for the other to fill in what the other negates."*
Writing for and about each other lets us: imagine each other as protagonists of a novel, gives the thrill of trusting each other, hold what the other person pays attention to in you
Hi there,
Happy Saturday and welcome to keeping each other in the loop. This is the last strain we’re introducing in branches. But first a quick fyi for those who missed the news: we’ve launched another isz szi newsletter that’s called wobbly drawing— as the name suggests it’s a space dedicated to sharing daily drawings. It’s a venture led by Szy but Ire guests and other guests contribute too (shout-out to Bo for already carving a space for themselves there).
About keeping each other in the loop
In this strain we write for and about each other: szynka writes what ire did (ex. he built a canvas from scratch), ire writes what szynka did (ex. made a drawing of a fat bird). The reasons for that are the curiosity for what the other person pays attention to in you + the thrill of trusting each other (and sharing a life (we live together)). The keeping each other in the loop strain also lets us imagine each other as protagonists of a novel, bringing characters that exist in the relation between us. You’ll be sure to read things that deviate from truth alongside grounded, heartfelt experiences of the recent weeks.
*The quotation that serves as our title for this post encapsulates what we do here best. It comes from a small but beautifully designed publication entitled This Simulation Sux, written by Deforrest Brown and Jr Ting Ding and published by Domain—a queer-led, design-forward publisher of original and archival work. ‘Future shocked’ is Alvin Toffler’s way to describe the physical and psychological distress suffered by one who is unable to cope with the rapidity of social and technological changes.
Keeping each other in the loop will be released every 25 days.
What both ire and szy did
Switched to washing hair with bottled water. #Saint-Josse #Brussels #calc-water #dry$kin
Who of our new Brussels audience can relate?
Saw Lamin Fofana live for the second time in our lives
Applied for an open call for a residency in Finland
Revisited the world of Twin Peaks
Little heads up: we got rusty writing this section. Lesson? Keep checking in with your loved ones.
What ire did
Read “the best sex essay ever” in Jackie Wang’s Alien Daughters Walk Into the Sun, swallowed Palm Oil (Max Haiven) and took us to the basement of artists’ studios space in Brussels to take part in a reading of a play by Valerie Solanas called Up Your Ass (other titles:
) along with ten other people. We got our roles assigned on the spot, script handed in and so we performed, Ire taking on the role of Ginger.
Yesterday ire summed up a new phase he entered roughly two days ago and has been affirming since then—YOLO phase.
What does it mean in my opinion? Seeing a little bit more ease with going through the day, a.k.a waking up to the morning rather than… thinking and being overwhelmed by the perspective of evening french classes, dealing with staircase light services on the phone or fighting mold one country away; or all the other responsibilities you wouldn’t normally be signing up for..
Also, having a long term dream and taking small steps towards getting there, there into a textile world—they’ve been looking into studies, workshops, working the sewing machine early in the morning. Bum, he made pants, very sexy, with one leg being made from a translucent grey-blue fabric.
Another news for this newsletter audience—Ire is doing an internship at Rile* bookstore in Brussels; he is more than half-way through it actually. Come pay a visit, they are there Saturdays and Sundays (some of these days are more special–more info right below).
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[EVENT ALERT]: Together with Ros (another intern and a great soul) they run (...) have (...) word rile* reading group. There will be updates on the next series of meetings on rile* communication platforms very soon. They are doing a wonderful job at crafting that special moment in space for reading out-loud, discussing the texts but also participants’ reading habits; and you get a reader (!) designed by ire.
Last but not least, keep an eye for another writing, design and coding body coming out from ire—szy’s website ✨✨✨. Url soon. But for now, look for a designer and coder of your website no further—ire is open for taking on new challenges. Even better if you are a person who works with writing, texts, I’m sure it’s going to be a perfect match.
I almost forgot, but it’s a good place to mention it. Writing, coding, designing combined in one place—dropsłów (translating to: ‘drop of words’ but in polish it sounds a bit like throwing something out to trash but not sure, maybe only sounds like it only to me).
It’s maybe the first time I see ire committing to restrictions—she set up a practice of sitting with writing every day, putting online unedited words every week. The plan is to draw a thread between these entries into a longer text. ? hmmm… a book published by Wydawnictwo Współbycie?
Weekly drop of words site: VISIT LINK
What szy did
What did Szy do? Writing this text makes me realise I haven’t been checking in enough with her. I think it’s because of this allure of stability she’s able to radiate while I run around bumping into feelings I can’t contain. I have a sense that right now Szynka is very focused on getting to the end of the last big project she engaged in last year. I know she’s looking forward to more air in life, more space to be in conversation with herself about desires, needs, lacks and ideas. I recall her mentioning she’d like to take two months off to focus on painting and drawing. I truly hope this intent will turn into reality soon.
From January until March she’s been working a lot - literally working straight 8-9 hours a day, 5 or more days a week with a short break in the middle. A lot of people associate working from home with distraction but once you’ve been doing it for a while, it’s actually the opposite. It’s pure work. No commute, no chit-chat with co-workers, no boring meetings. At times pomodoro helps to set a rhythm that doesn’t make your brain boil. Because of this, I know Szy is set on finding a studio space outside of home. We’re eyeing two options but we will not decide on anything until after the summer. I trust that this will be a good decision, bringing new dynamism into our days, and clearing some space at home for more creative or leisurely activities.
I now recall the beginning of 2024 with a certain intensity, like a grinding of sorts. I’m grateful for the warmth that has since managed to soften our bodies. I observe Szy making more space for herself to draw, or just relax, go for a walk (like the one time she spent the whole Sunday in Bois de la Cambre, chatting with an artist who does calligraphy and walking all the way home cause public transport broke). I loved it when this week Szy went to the neighbouring square to draw and came back with a peaceful look on her face.
Actually, SZY HAS BEEN MOSTLY DRAWING. I have this image of her sitting in our (only) red lounge chair, in the corner of the living room, next to the bookshelf, eyes squinting, Szy in the zone of visuality — un-disruptable, sucked in, safe. It’s where I most often find her when I come back from rile* or other errands/meetings. It’s probably where you’ll find her too.
Book wise
Szymon has been reading On the Origin of Species and Other Stories by Bo-Young Kim which I bought at rile* when I saw Laurence Rassel buy it. He took some time to read it and was rather quiet about the experience until reading one of the last stories from the collection titled Starts Shine on the Earth’s Sky. He invited me to read the story day after when I was moping around, feeling sad. It was an incredible piece, a real flip of perspectives, smart and warm, detailed. We have shared it with two other friends since and so we attach an excerpt below as well. If you’d like to read the full story, send us an email and we can share a pdf.
Right now she started You have not been defeated by Alaa Abd El-Fattah, a book I picked up from the library (I saw it for the first time 2 years ago in London and has been wanting to read it ever since.) This fragment stood out to Szy:
Other stuffssssss
Szy has been yearning for new clothes—enjoying waffles with plum jam from her grandma (shoutout Maria! We love u)—he made amazing baba ganoush from eggplants we roasted for a few hours on our new bbq (I was asleep while Szy whipped it together the next morning)—and honestly just being her beautiful self, supportive, attuned and fixating on tiled floors in waiting rooms.
