Appropriating shopping bags, makeup palettes, and candy-colored rockets resembling giant vibrators, Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury has affirmed herself in the ’80s at the center of a new wave of feminism—one of the women embracing that they were women. And while she never intended her work as a commentary on society, her outlook on consumerism, superficiality, and celebrity spectacle feels more relevant than ever in our “post-truth” world.
Instigated by today’s platform capitalism and the attention economy, identity-building has become a more mediated process, shifting the focus from individual identities to a collective, socially constructed, marketable self. Within this frame, the notion of “performance” seems to be taking center stage. Not only identity evaluation mechanisms such as likes, views, and ratings are becoming the norm; we will now witness millions of users navigate the metaverse “embodying” a non-fungible version of themselves. Unsurprisingly, “performative activism” and “performance anxiety” are making headlines. Through two essays and a piece of autofiction, we bounce back and forth between true and performed, theory and fiction, self-awareness and self-mythology, ego and gender, to interrogate how the algorithmic experience both pulls from identity and shapes it.
A young woman who’s already a rising art star completes her Master of Fine Arts at a prestigious school, spiraling through the masturbatory nonsense of higher education. In her latest work, and first full-length feature film, Martine Syms chooses long-time friend and collaborator Diamond Stingily as her charismatic lead, to expose the narcissism of the still-so-white art world, satirize its chaotic energy, and realize that, oh, it’s all a performance.
Previously dismissed as an atmospheric soundtrack playing in the background of our daily life, ambient resurges as the central aesthetics of the early ’20s, perhaps as an instinctive reaction to global chaos—with expansive, experiential, synesthetic immersivity making a comeback at the nexus of music, art, and architecture. Within this frame, Berlin-based studio sub (helmed by Niklas Bildstein Zaar and Andrea Faraguna) are producing haunting spectacles imbued with a spiritual sensibility, quietly acting as the wizards-behind-the-curtain for the likes of Balenciaga and Kanye West.
Shifting between a cohesive educational approach, intended mystery, and a play with misunderstandings, Anonymous Club is the newest, multifunctional, collective project by Shayne Oliver. Emerging from the gay, black subculture of New York City, and situated amid a network of influences ranging from Andre Walker to the late Virgil Abloh, the designer plays with notions of performance art, the archive, and the museum, to keep pushing the lines of the runway.
In their latest collaborative project, designer Matthew M. Williams and painter Josh Smith have created garments pulsing with vibrant color, animated by psychedelic renditions of palm trees and the Grim Reaper.
In this story, starring Texan emo cowboy and burgeoning fashion icon Teezo Touchdown, the two creators discuss the genesis of their collaboration, the meaning of magic, and earning the right to make audiences uncomfortable.
In their latest collaborative project, designer Matthew M. Williams and painter Josh Smith have created garments pulsing with vibrant color, animated by psychedelic renditions of palm trees and the Grim Reaper.
In this story, starring Texan emo cowboy and burgeoning fashion icon Teezo Touchdown, the two creators discuss the genesis of their collaboration, the meaning of magic, and earning the right to make audiences uncomfortable.
Delving into a wide range of modern industries—from automotive and robotic science, to plastic surgery and aviation—Yngve Holen’s practice investigates the post-human entanglement between bodies and objects of consumer culture. In a series of works dedicated to the food industry, the Norwegian-German artist spotlights meat as a product of nature as much as a design object, negotiating the boundary between exploitation and seduction.
She doesn’t listen to much music, doesn’t care for the record industry, and prefers her audience to sit down; a lot of her songs aren’t full-length, and her performances are carried out as a form of speech or conversation.
Born and raised in Hackney, East London, rapper and producer John Glacier rejects conventions, genre distinctions, and stagnant self-narratives; instead, she prioritizes intimacy, awareness, and channeling the voice of her inner child.
She doesn’t listen to much music, doesn’t care for the record industry, and prefers her audience to sit down; a lot of her songs aren’t full-length, and her performances are carried out as a form of speech or conversation.
Born and raised in Hackney, East London, rapper and producer John Glacier rejects conventions, genre distinctions, and stagnant self-narratives; instead, she prioritizes intimacy, awareness, and channeling the voice of her inner child.
A massively influential figure for generations of young men looking for positive queer role models, Tom of Finland contrasted a reality of discrimination by creating his own, egalitarian utopia—one of unabashed sexuality and liberating humor, that subverted power structures. Today, the House he opened in Los Angeles is an archive, museum, and LGBTQ+ community space—sign up for a book club, sex parties, and now a touring exhibition in Venice and Paris.
Carrying the scars of growing up one-of-a-kind in a conformist environment, Loïk Gomez aka BFRND went from suffering the condition of weirdo to reclaiming it. The power of difference, and the sense of community that lies therein, is also the driving force when it comes to his music—from his soundtracks for the Balenciaga shows, a product of his creative and life partnership with Demna, to his forthcoming debut album.
