#82: Moon Mokgoro (Protest Poster Project)
We're joined by writer and mathematics & physics student, Moon Mokgoro, who tells us more about their library 'Protest Poster Project', cemeteries, Ingmar Bergman, Espresso Martini’s, and much more!
Moon Mokgoro studies physics and mathematics and is a writer based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is the founder of Protest Poster Project, a non-profit organisation focused on fighting against gender based violence and building a library/archive of activist, anarchist and feminist literature. She's written for the Are.na 2023 Annual, Byline Mag, Goethe Institut and others as well as occasionally writing on her Substack. Archiving and documenting, collecting and remembering are what Moon aspires to do in all her work.
We welcome Moon to The FRM Newsletter to share what she’s been into recently!
Collecting is something I love to do. Through collecting, memories are immortalised and remain with you, almost physically, forever. Not only collecting items from experiences, interactions and events but also collecting newspaper clippings, photos of signs, postcards, fonts, and pencils from trips. These are just a few of the things I like to collect–not only to relive memories but also to have what I love and adore close to me. I am also very into research and projectgutenberg-esque material–lots of pdfs. This builds a pdf collection too. (Here are a few pdf’s that I’ve got in a little folder on my laptop that I’m currently reading: “Surrealism, Occultism, and Politics” (tessel-m-bauduin-surrealism-occultism-and-politics-in-search-of-the-marvellous.pdf | Are.na), “Sculpting in Time: Andrey Tarkovsky: The Great Russian Filmmaker Discusses His Art” (Sculpting in Time: Reflections on the Cinema), “A View of Mathematics” (https://www.are.na/block/653873).
🪦💭 Cemeteries
Cemeteries have recently become wonderful spaces for me. I’ve spent the past few months frequenting multiple cemeteries around the city and have come to the realisation that our fear of cemeteries is unfounded. Of course, there are spiritual reasons and beliefs behind the fear of cemeteries–these have been present for decades, and I'm not dismissing anyone's beliefs. However, cemeteries are so peaceful. They’re quiet, serene, beautiful. There’s a lot of peace and silence. Go read a book to one of your deceased loved ones <3
💿🎹 ~~~ by Ana Roxanne
Ana Roxanne has recently become one of my favourite artists. I spent a lot of time listening to her music this past December. She has carried me through a chaotic month. “It’s a Rainy Day on the Cosmic Shore” and “Immortality” are on repeat.
📝❤️🩹 Keeping a Notebook on You
Sometimes I need to write something down–a quick thought, a number, a short journal entry. Other times I need somewhere to place a leaf or flower I picked, or even a piece of paper that I want to save from getting damaged in the chaos of my bag. I like keeping a notebook on me for these and a few other reasons. My favourite notebooks are the Muji Recycled Paper Notebook (https://www.muji.eu/products/recycled-paper-notebook-8451), or the Moleskine Journals (https://www.moleskine.com/shop/notebooks/journals/). My favourite pens are the Muji 0.38mm Gel Pen (https://www.muji.eu/products/coloured-gel-pen-with-cap-single-0-38-mm-11044), the Pigma Micron 0.20mm Pen (https://artsavingsclub.co.za/product/pigma-micron-pens-single-sakura/) or sometimes just a basic pencil (https://int.japanesetaste.com/products/tombow-8900-graphite-pencils-hb-12-pieces).
📚👩💻 Reading
I’ve loved reading since I was really young. I have books everywhere–shelves, floors, cupboards. I feel it's important to build a personal library–which is why even though I already own hundreds of books, buying new ones doesn’t trigger any sort of guilt, even when there are some I own that I haven’t read yet. I’m currently reading “The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy and “Face and Mask: A Double History” by Hans Belting. The books I’ve read over the years have played a part in influencing my feminist views, and I wanted to share this. I started a library called the Protest Poster Project Library (https://protestposterproject.com/). The library has a variety of books on feminism, activism, and politics. Books like “Congo Diaries” by Che Guevara, “Black Skin, White Masks” by Frantz Fanon, “Scum Manifesto” by Valerie Solanas, “Women’s Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle” by Thomas Sankara, “Caliban and the Witch” by Silvia Federici, and a lot of others. This library has become my baby and I hold it and its growth as a platform for access to theory and literature so close to my heart.
🎥🇸🇪 Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman is one of the best directors I have ever come across. I know many feel this way. His films are an incredible exploration of film as a medium. They force you to be present, they demand your attention–with the writing, the storytelling, the directing, and the visuals. "The Seventh Seal" is the film that introduced me to Bergman and from then onwards, I fell into a deep hole of his films, interviews, and his relationship with Liv Ullmann.
🧶 Cardigans
I’ve been wearing cardigans a lot lately. Could be an evolution/change in my style but they also go with everything. They’re also really warm, and really comfortable.
📙 Simone Weil
I recently read “The Notebooks of Simone Weil.” She was a philosopher and activist who wrote extensively about her beliefs in oppression, metaphysics, rootedness, equality, and spirituality. One part I’ve highlighted in it is on being good, “The thirst after good is never of no avail, not only if we take the case of an individual, but also that of the general mass of men. The amount of good that is produced for humanity at any given period (the significance of this word period is difficult to fix exactly) is mathematically equal to the sum total of individual thirsts after good formed by all the human beings living in the world during the course of that period. That is simply a belief which it is necessary to bear in mind, but to which we must in no wise attach ourselves."
🌌🕳️ Neptune
Neptune is one of the least explored planets in our solar system. It is the coolest (not temp) planet I’ve ever read about (especially as someone who literally studies physics). I have built a small obsession with it. The Planets by Andrew Cohen and Brian Cox first [further] introduced me to Neptune. From there, my deep dive aided me in learning so much more about it. Neptunian Rings (https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/nepringfact.html), Neptune photo gallery (https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-neptune.html), Uranus and Neptune by Carolyn Kennett
(https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/U/bo184798453.html).
From The Birmingham (formerly The Forty Thieves) in Parkhurst! I sit there with my friend for 2-3 hours and we just drink Espresso Martini’s. They’re the absolute best.