This Is How I Felt

This digital portrait of Chris Parker shows the popular New Zealand comedian wearing the results of his creative response to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

The arts and entertainment sectors suffered hugely during the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly during the lockdown period (11.59pm 25 March to 11.59pm 27 April 2020) when all entertainment venues closed down. The NZ International Comedy Festival was particularly affected and was cancelled on 18 March, including Chris Parker’s LGBTQI+ themed show Absolutely Fizzing.

Many people learnt new skills and hobbies during the lockdown period, and many turned to creative expression to process the magnitude of what was happening. Chris learnt how to felt and shared his process and musings on Instagram and television. He promised he would make a hat featuring all his creations. This portrait by performance photographer Andi Crown captures what Chris describes as ‘truly one of the best/worst things I’ve ever made. I’ve titled this work: THIS IS HOW I FELT’ (chrisparker11/Instagram).

The hat features tiny versions of the key public figures during Covid-19: Dr Siouxsie Wiles, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Beside Bloomfield is a bag of flour, acknowledging that this staple quickly sold out as people turned to baking during lockdown. Beside the flour is a tiny self-portrait of Chris wearing his orange hoodie which he wore every day of lockdown. In the centre of the hat is a tiny official Covid graphic combining the ‘Stay home stay safe’ house with the ‘Be kind’ heart on a background of yellow and white diagonal stripes.

Chris 'felted as if a being possessed’ according to Andi Crown (andicrownphotography/Instagram). With his crown-like hat, high ruffled collar and ‘chain of office’, Andi's portrait evokes Tudor and Elizabethan portraits of the late 15th to 16th centuries. It also evokes the many famous artworks people re-created in their homes with whatever props they had to hand, posted under the hashtag #MuseumChallenge.

Chris was one of many artists who took to online platforms to share their creativity despite the ‘stunning awful blow … dealt to the cultural sector. A blow to artists, designers, craftspeople, dancers, actors and musicians, whose schedules are wiped clean as work evaporates, as the idea of audiences gathering in space ceases to be ordinary. And yet, through hundreds of small important acts of creativity every day, they continue (many unpaid) to be of great and remarkable service’ (Kim Paton, The Spinoff, 18 April 2020).

Chris Parker

Chris Parker is a New Zealand actor, comedian and writer. He won the 2015 NZ International Comedy Festival Best Newcomer Award for his first solo show, No More Dancing in the Good Room. He won the 2018 Fred Award for his show Camp Binch. He starred as David Halls in Hudson & Halls Live! winning Best Actor at the 2016 Wellington Theatre Awards. He writes and performs for 7 Days, and is a core cast member of the award-winning improvisation comedy show Snort.

In 2021, the NZ International Comedy Festival was back. Parker performed How I Felt where he blended live felting and comedy, and staged a mock battle between Te Papa and Auckland Museum over who got to collect the actual hat (Auckland Museum holds the hat; Te Papa holds the digital portrait).