The Pleasure Lists Q&A: Yasmine Ganley
Pleasures, Curated by Yasmine Ganley
We’re back with another installment of
: Pleasures, Curated.I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoy getting to know members of the Pleasure Lists community and what makes their Pleasures tick.
Pleasures, Curated by Yasmine Ganley () of
Yasmine Ganley is a half French/ half Kiwi interdisciplinary artist based in New Zealand. With a practice grounded in contemporary dance, Yasmine bridges moments that reflect energy in motion throughout a variety of visual projects and nostalgic expressions. Her current practice involves a combination of creative direction, brand consultancy, storytelling and photography, collaborating with independent brands, makers and artists. Through her digital platform anyonegirl.com, Yasmine has published a variety of art books and magazines that encourage intuitive practices.
Location: Titirangi, New Zealand
Social: @anyonegirl
Pleasures
a nudie swim
being cooked for
a soft notebook that sits flat open
singing in the car
the smell of a Mary Rose on dusk
1. A nudie swim
The most recent being with my family, tramping through the Abel Tasman's Coastal walk. Our first afternoon, after a couple of hours walking, we arrived at Anapai beach, the only people there, and it was a thrill to take off our sweaty socks and run into crisp clear water.
2. Being cooked for
Although I do enjoy cooking myself, it is always lovely to take back that hour in the day and laze around until delicious aromas drift from the kitchen, and wham! a salty plate of goodness is slapped on the table. Tiny bowls of surprising flavors and colour combinations arrive, and you're visually taken through someone else's ideas on how to nourish a body.
3. A soft notebook that sits flat open
This is something I take quite seriously. I used to resort to buying thin ring-bound exercise books, like the ones you used at school, but then I was gifted one from Slow Design Florence, and now I’m up to my third of their notebooks. They’re utterly beautiful, lush paper stock with hand painted edges, canvas covered, stitch bound, and they sit flat open on the table so that the day’s list is always available. I am obsessed with a good notebook. I write in them everyday. And it has to be able to lay flat open on the table, nothing worse than a ping-back / lose your page notebook.
My favourite are the Slow Design Florence notebooks from Tessuti.
4. Singing in the car
Two memorable moments. A recent being singing Alanis Morrisette in my car on my own, maybe singing is a stretch. When I got home I felt euphoric, buoyant and strong. That album was a backdrop to my tween years and it ripped again thirty years later.
The other time was at the end of last year, we had finished a karaoke night and were on our way home. Sitting in the passenger seat I had access to the Spotify account on the iPhone plugged into the stereo, so the karaoke session didn't really end. Not only that, it was my favourite part of the night. Is there anything better than singing at the top of your lungs to 90s club songs in a small car with friends?
5. The smell of a Mary Rose on dusk
I have always wanted to grow roses in my garden, and last year my daughter picked out an 80s dusty-pink frilly and delicate wee thing called Mary. (Roses have such great names, don't they?) With generous petals that aren’t shy to unravel. Mary smells like heaven when the sun leaves our street. She has us forcing our noses into her generous face, only to knock her petals off their stem and have them shower the ground below us all. Like a wedding, once the party has been ushered indoors.
What does Pleasure mean to you?
Pleasure is the opposite of sorrow. A singular feeling that overrides any other sensation, demanding that we experience one moment in its entirety.
Who do you want to see next? Send me suggestions for who to feature in the next Q&A!
What Is “Pleasures, Curated”?
Each week, a new Pleasure-seeker will document their personal Pleasures and ruminate a bit on what Pleasure means to them. True to
style, I keep the list-maker’s je ne sais quoi in as much as I can — only minor editorial changes are made when necessary. I do this intentionally so that the writer’s inner world really comes through. The style of the list says as much about the writer as the list itself.Read Previous Q&A’s:
The Pleasure Lists Q&A: Haley Mlotek
We’re back with another installment of The Pleasure Lists: Pleasures, Curated.
The Pleasure Lists Q&A: Whitney Mallett
We’re back with another installment of The Pleasure Lists: Pleasures, Curated.
Why submit a list?
Pleasure Lists are a summary of what you need, want, or have, or see at a particular moment in time. They are a survey, an overview, a summary of the crucial facts of the state of one aspect of your life. It’s a kind of blueprint that can be a guide to the future.
Mull it over and if you’re moved to, send me a list.
Questions? Comments? Send any recommendations or suggestions for what you’d like to see in these newsletters my way. I’d love to hear more about what you’re currently finding pleasure in.
Join the chat below to connect with other members of the Pleasure List community:
Please share this newsletter! The Pleasure Lists is meant to be a collaborative project that calls people from all over to write, read, and share their pleasures — a global community of artists, writers, and pondering minds alike.
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