Creativity is where I feel that I belong

Selfie after Insta Live 04, a first reading of “The Museum of Loneliness”.

Selfie after Insta Live 04, a first reading of “The Museum of Loneliness”.

When I socially transitioned, a client said to me, “I hope you feel like you belong with us.” 


Significantly, this person's parents immigrated to the UK, and is slightly older than me. Despite our differences, our experiences might overlap in some ways.


I feel touched by the comment and remember it now as I think about some of the comments made by white immigrants (who arrived in the UK after me) who seem to be unaware of our struggles for social acceptance, body image and misogyny. Possibly because those of my generation are still unused to or not yet in a position to share about it.



My story "The Museum of Loneliness" (which I read on Monday) is typically eccentric and also gothic, but it's about loneliness - which many people feel, especially in lockdown, especially when culturally isolated.

CREATIVITY is where I feel that I belong.

My squirrel-like dispersal of fragmented and interrupted tellings – is a haphazard and problematic yet also fruitful strategy of distribution. My stories about alienation, belonging, seeking and mysterious treasures have been scattered, with more to follow.


Image Description: 

Selfie photo of The Mollusc Dimension, an East-Asian masculine person with short black hair, looking directly at the camera. Holding what looks like a story book – actually a big old cookery book from the seventies, wearing black jacket and shirt, unbuttoned at the collar. Red floral cloth in background. Taken after his weekly insta live, "House of the Flying Tentacles" on Monday.

 
creativity, performance, storytellingThe Mollusc Dimensionbelonging, outsider, qtpoc, queer