Mini-interview with Sylvia Santiago & Helena Pantsis
HFR: Can you share a moment that has shaped you as collaborators (or continues to)?
HP: When working with people who specialize in different genres, there’s a real learning curve from both ends when it comes to anticipating how your work will be interpreted as well as how to navigate the literal and symbolic nature of prose in adapting it to a hybrid form. It changes constantly depending on who you work with, but what’s brilliant about working with someone like Sylvia is that she knows her own vision, but she can still appreciate how her piece will alter through my eyes as the work’s interpreter. It was a brilliant back-and-forth of collaboration and communication until we were both happy with the final result—not really one moment, but the entire process shapes you for your specific collaborator.
SS: This was the first time I collaborated with an artist, and Helena made it a wonderful experience. There was mutual respect and enthusiasm for each other’s contributions, and a commitment to create the best work possible. I believe things will go well if those elements are present.
HFR: What are you reading?
SS: Museum of Hidden Beings by Arngrimur Sigurðsson. It’s a lovely book about mythical creatures of Iceland, pairing their stories with oil painting portraits.
HP: I’m not a big nonfiction reader, but recently I’ve been delving into The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein, and how true it is that truth can be stranger than fiction. In this case, very intriguing and eye-opening.
HFR: Can you tell us what prompted “The heart of a blue whale weighs 400 pounds”?
HP: I was looking to collaborate with a writer, so I shared a post on social media and Sylvia reached out. I loved reading some of her past work and thought it would be really fun to see what we could create together. The beautiful writing and imagery was all a product of Sylvia’s talent and creativity.
SS: “The heart of a blue whale weighs 400 pounds” was drafted in a workshop shortly before I saw Helena’s post. I was familiar with her comics from online journals; there’s a candor to her illustrations that I was drawn to. I’m thrilled with what she created for this piece.
HFR: What’s next? Are you working on another collaboration?
HP: If Sylvia has more words in her that she feels would go well with the comic form, I’m more than eager to adapt them. The wonderful thing about the collaboration process is how it ebbs and flows—you can’t force an idea, but as the artist I have the easy job because the story has already been laid out in front of me.
SS: I’d love to work with Helena again in the future, and I’m happy that she feels similarly.
HFR: Take the floor. Be political. Be fanatical. Be anything. What do you want to share?
HP: I want to encourage others to be kind, and to create for the sake of enjoyment when you can. Try a form you’ve never tried, or work alongside someone you admire. The worst thing that can happen is you’ve tried something new!
SS: Ditto!
Sylvia Santiago (she/her) is a writer and insomniac from western Canada. Her writing appears in Crow & Cross Keys, Gone Lawn, HAD, Uncanny Magazine, and elsewhere. Find her on Twitter/X @sylviasays2.
Helena Pantsis (she/they) is an editor, writer and artist from Naarm, Australia with a fond appreciation for the gritty, the dark, and the experimental. Her works have been published in Overland, Island, Meanjin, and Cordite. More can be found at hlnpnts.com.
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