Wolfe von Lenkiewicz - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Wolfe von Lenkiewicz
AI in Art Reimagined

written + interview Tagen Donovan

Wolfe von Lenkiewicz’s practice modifies our visual understanding of the past through reconfigurations of iconic pre and postmodernist imagery.

Occupying the periphery of convention, Von Wolfe utilises innovative techniques with use of AI technology, harnessing the tools of a visually hyper-saturated landscape. The revered artist has been described as both ‘an unbound geneticist turned artist’ and ‘a contemporary iconoclast’. Steadily commandeering the intersection of classics and modernity.

Graduating with a degree in Philosophy from the University of York, specialising in Contemporary Epistemology. Naturally the exploration between linguistics, mythology, and the complexities surrounding identity remain at the forefront of Von Wolfe’s practice, combined with the nuances of AI generation - the artist engages his audience with critical thought-systems, and invites the notion of a (re)contextualised trajectory of art. Most importantly, what lies at the core of his visual consideration remains the use of language, and it’s reinterpretation within the sphere of visual arts. On all counts, Von Wolfe remains a disruptor. Eliciting an awareness of a subtle complacency towards our visual world that we have in turn grown indifferent towards.

Wolfe von Lenkiewicz
Always Screaming When Her Voice Is Cracked, 2022
40 x 40 cm
Copyright The Artist

Wolfe von Lenkiewicz
The Kiss, 2022 Works
85 x 80 cm
Copyright The Artist

It could be said that our understanding of visual language has become somewhat warped through the avalanche of cultural knowledge that we often get overwhelmed by. The extent to which we place our trust in almost familial reproductions of iconic artworks, begs to question if we still maintain the ability to appreciate these monumentally important artefacts from bygone eras. It is through this concept of inquisition where we see the importance of the artists exploration of complex issues within the contemporary and artificial intelligent realm. Provocative by nature, Von Wolfe's work reveals the breaking of barriers by way of a distinct visual-syntax. Conceptualising ‘meta-history’ in order to fashion a new mythology - a history about the history of art.

Holding philosophers Wittgenstein and Paul Feyerabend as having a profound influence on the artist. It would be the work of Wittgenstein’s that particularly enamoured Von Wolfe, and the concept of rule-following among philosophical investigations. Deeply resonating with the growth of natural language-coding remains closely aligned with the artists fixation. However to the same degree, Feyerabend’s realisation that science is a belief-system much like any other, and is intrinsically shaped by culture balances out Von Wolfe’s perspective and encourages the process of critical thinking, especially to the tune of the role science plays among society. Wittgenstein and Feverabend have provided valuable insight to the artist, allowing a deeper grasp relative to the nature of language and the ways in which we understand and engage with the world.

In contrast to other artists, Von Wolfe does not position himself as a singular artist with an overarching desire to dominate visual history by virtue of the unparalleled works that he creates. Instead, Von Wolfe operates from a meta- postmodernist vantage-point, examining society’s construction of art history as a fiction, yet remaining authentic to his approach. Extracting meaning within our preexisting realms of information, Von Wolfe unearths and resurrects works from the past, stretching to the self-professed “red hot period of art history”, spanning between 33,00 BC to 1519 AD.
Embellished with symbolism and an undeniable classical skill. Von Wolfe employs a full mastery of the techniques utilised by the original artists tinged with the fluency of AI technology. The sheer magnitude of his work, together with a dexterous grasp of contrasting aesthetics work to dissect and reconstruct. Most importantly, Von Wolfe warmly embraces history – equally with scope to challenge it. Through the cultivation of disparate elements, belief-systems pertaining to the modern and postmodern leads the artist down the rabbit hole, encountering new worlds and beyond.

As the course of visual and contemporary culture continues to evolve, so must the perception of the language and imagery around us. Continuing his exploration into a non-linear history, Von Wolfe single handedly disrupts traditional artistic practices by reverse engineering and adapting techniques to fit the current zeitgeist.

“AI raises questions about ethics, aesthetics, and autonomy. It disrupts traditional practices and challenges our notions of 'art', operating independently and raising questions about human control and agency.”

Wolfe von Lenkiewicz speaks with Tagen Donovan
LE MILE Magazine DAZED, Nr. 34

Tagen Donovan
What are your thoughts on the relationship between artificial intelligence and contemporary art? In what way does this mesh with your practice?
Wolfe von Lenkiewicz
When it comes to artificial intelligence and contemporary art, there are many complex issues to consider. One of the main areas of concern is ethics, as the use of AI raises questions about the roles and responsibilities of both the artist and the technology. There are also aesthetic concerns, as AI has the potential to disrupt traditional artistic practices and create new forms of art that challenge our traditional notions of what constitutes “art”. Another important aspect to consider is autonomy, as AI has the ability to operate independently and make decisions on its own, which raises questions about human control and agency. Finally, there is the issue of the very nature of art itself, as AI has the potential to fundamentally alter our understanding of what art is and how it is created. These are just a few of the many facets that must be unpacked when considering the intersection of artificial intelligence and contemporary art, and they all contribute to the complex and dynamic landscape of this rapidly evolving field.

Your work evokes a sense of history, the characters inhabit their own world that resembles a bygone era. How do you interpret the environment and the figures depicted in your paintings? And what cultural references do you lean towards when mapping out a new piece?
In my artistic process, I carefully consider the cultural references that I choose to incorporate into my work. I often prompt the AI to focus on artists who are centuries old and whose works are in the public domain, as these provide a rich source of inspiration that is outside of copyright restrictions. By reverse engineering these artists and adapting their styles to fit the contemporary zeitgeist, I am able to create art that is rooted in tradition but also relevant to the present moment. When the AI produces less coherent results, I sometimes turn to traditional drawing techniques to help guide the direction of the work. Finally, I physically paint the digital works using traditional methods such as oil painting on canvas or panel; seeing both the AI- generated and human-made images as independent and equal art manifestations of the process. It is important to me that both aspects of the process are given equal weight and attention.

What is the impetus behind your body of work – what idea did you begin with, and how did this develop overtime to where it is at present?
One of the main goals of my work is to identify and explore aesthetic “outliers”; or unusual traits within the thousands of artworks I have created with AI. By testing these pieces against each other at a high frequency, I am able to identify those that stand out artistically and may be relevant to contemporary issues such as gender, race, sexuality, and disability. Rather than approaching these subjects in a journalistic manner, my work aims to delve into them in a more visceral and psychological way. In addition, I strive to counterbalance any biases that may have been present in the data used to train the AI by carefully considering the prompts and post-production processes. By seeking out and examining these outliers, I hope to shed new light on important social issues and offer fresh perspectives on the world around us.

What kind of relationship do you have with your work? Does this relationship extend itself to the characters portrayed within your practice?
One of the byproducts of creating my work at such a high frequency is that I am able to approach it as if I were a stranger, rather than becoming too attached to it.This allows me to survey the meaning within the shared language and culture of our society in the same way that others might. By creating a sense of dislocation between myself and the work, I am able to retain a certain level of objectivity and perspective. Too close an attachment to the “self” within the image could potentially lead to biases or subjective interpretations that might distort the intended message or meaning. By maintaining a sense of distance, I am able to better understand and communicate my ideas to others in a clear and effective way. This does not mean I fail to have an emotional response but rather my aesthetic choices and reactions are not distorted by my sense of ownership.

With a considerable presence on social media, do you find the intertwining of virtual and physical worlds at all invasive? How important do you feel it is for a contemporary viewer to relate to the subjects of your work?
I take my use of social media very seriously and see it as a crucial platform for sharing my art with the world. Despite being virtual, my presence on social media puts me in the public realm, much like a street artist who performs for a live audience. I find social media to be both rewarding and challenging, as it allows me to connect with a wide audience but can also expose me to criticism and polarising debates. In addition to social media, I also use Discord as a way to engage with a community, particularly for my upcoming NFT project TREASURY, which is set to launch in 2023. Overall, I see social media and online communities as an important part of my artistic practice and am always seeking to find new and creative ways to engage with my audience.

Humour is a common thread that runs deep within your practice, could you elaborate on this?
It is not something I consciously try to incorporate. In fact, I see myself as being completely devoid of it. However, I have had experiences where my work has been met with unexpected laughter, such as when I showed a film featuring characters in strange costumes I had made, who were supposed to be enlightened thinkers having an argument on a beach. Despite my initial embarrassment, I have come to realise that the humour in my work is of a peculiar, uncanny nature. I want viewers to approach my digital images or large- scale paintings in a gallery and feel a sense of uncertainty about whether they should laugh or cry. Upon closer examination, they may be drawn to the intricate details of the outfits and design elements, even as the overall image is disturbing or unsettling. It is as if the horror of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, is inappropriately followed by an unexpected appreciation for the aesthetics of the cool jumpsuits the characters are wearing.

Beyond the art world, what or who inspires you? Are there any rituals or activities that connect you with creativity?
The philosophers Wittgenstein and Paul Feyerabend have had a profound influence on my thinking and continue to be relevant in our present culture. Wittgenstein’s work, particularly his concept of rule-following in the Philosophical Investigations, resonates with me as I see the growth of natural language coding as closely aligned with this idea. At the same time, Feyerabend’s realisation that science is a belief system like any other and is shaped by culture, but is not necessarily hierarchically progressive, helps to balance my perspective and encourages me to think critically about the role of science in society. These philosophers have provided me with valuable insights and have helped me to think more deeply about the nature of language, knowledge, and the ways in which we understand and engage with the world.

There’s a timelessness about your work, yet your paintings are rich with references to other decades. Which eras and movements do you feel most affinity with?
Of the narrow range of European art culture, I have a particular fondness for the work of Rogier van der Weyden and Leonardo da Vinci, particularly da Vinci’s lost works such as the Battle of Anghiari, Leda and the Swan, and the early Garden of Eden. I particularly like the span of a wide range of time, from 33,000 BC to 1519 AD, which represent what I consider to be a “red hot”period in art history. However, my fascination with art is not limited to just European culture. I have a nearly infinite curiosity and appreciation for the art of all cultures around the world and am captivated by the creativity and cultural significance of all forms of art.

Wolfe von Lenkiewicz
Magdalene, 2022
130 x 130 cm
Copyright The Artist

“My goal is to explore aesthetic 'outliers' in AI-generated artworks, addressing contemporary issues like gender, race, and disability in a visceral and psychological way.”

Wolfe von Lenkiewicz speaks with Tagen Donovan
LE MILE Magazine DAZED, Nr. 34

Wolfe von Lenkiewicz
The Runners, 2022
220 x 220 cm
Copyright The Artist

Could you elaborate on your background and your journey to becoming an artist?
I guess I am more comfortable with a blank bio.

What is your stance and relationship between the fusion of contemporary art, architecture, fashion, craft and fine-art (Gesamtkunstwerk)?
My goal is to create a unique and innovative form of art that combines and reimagines the styles of historical artists, much like how NASA fine- tuned the mirrors on the James Webb telescope. I am deeply interested in the psychology of my subjects and strive to create art that is relevant and meaningful for the contemporary moment. In regards to fashion, I also design original clothing, shoes, and hairstyles to complete my artistic vision within the paintings.This new form of art is intended for both the digital realm of social media and the physical world, and can be described as a type of international high frequency art that embodies metamodernism.

Your paintings communicate a sense of optimism, accentuated by vivid colour palettes, comical gestures and jovial expressions. This tongue-in- cheek approach to cultural critique feels inherently British. Would you agree that this method of evaluation behind your work lends itself to being more accessible to a wider audience?
Although I have never personally been inspired by a British artist, with the exception of the esteemed portrait miniaturist Nicholas Hilliard, I must acknowledge that Britain has a rich history of artistic and cultural contributions. The country’s literary and scientific achievements are well-known and respected throughout the world. Despite my lack of personal connection to British art, I cannot help but be impressed and inspired by many of its artists such as Gwen John, Augustus John, Meredith Frampton and Alfred Gilbert.

follow talent @vonwolfe_

all images (c) Wolfe von Lenkiewicz Studio

Andrew Georgiades - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Andrew Georgiades
Breaking Digital Boundaries

interview Chidozie Obasi

Andrew Georgiades, the British-born, Greek Cypriot creative, is redefining modern artistry. From theatre and cinema to high fashion, his journey defies convention.

Rejecting industry norms, Georgiades blends his love for photography, music, and cinema with his fashion career. Embracing Bruce Lee’s philosophy of being like water, he navigates the fast-paced digital era with authenticity and balance, prioritizing mental health and personal growth.

Andrew wears
coat + scarf Nanushka
shirt + bag Issey Miyake Homme Plissé
trousers Loro Piana

“My first artistic medium was theatre and cinema. I fell in love with photography […]. Fashion came later, starting with retail jobs at Hollister and AllSaints, which led to modeling and opened my eyes to the interconnected world of fashion.”

Andrew Georgiades speaks with Chidozie Obasi
LE MILE .Digital

Chidozie Obasi
Was fashion your key go-to goal or did you dab into other stuff prior to venturing in this field?
Andrew Georgiades
Never. In fact my first artistic medium was theatre and cinema. At school I wanted to be an actor, and was deeply passionate about filmmaking as a craft and artform. This led me to fall in love with photography, and continue to achieve a bachelor's degree in multimedia design. Fashion came later on for me, my first two part time jobs (retail at Hollister and Allsaints) led to being signed as a model which introduced me to the fashion industry, and with it, opened my eyes to a world which felt very transferrable and intertwined with my other creative passions. I always knew modelling was not my end goal, and ended up combining all my talents to take advantage of social media platforms and the digital era to further my positioning in this high fashion industry.

As you’re paving the way amid a sea of social media creators in an age permeated by digitalisation, how did you manage to start in this field back in the day?
In a world dampened by labels and boxes, I approached social media in a more holistic way. For example, when instagram found popularity amidst the fashion industry, ‘models’ were encouraged to use this platform as their ‘portfolio’, sharing campaigns, and professional shoots. I was also advised to ‘create a separate account for my photography endeavours, as people follow me to see my face, and not my skills as a photographer’. I deliberately rejected this approach, and instead, used social media to show, behind the scenes of my job, my own personal fashion style, my personality, humour, photography, music and cinema tastes etc. And in doing so, I became a fully fleshed out human to my followers rather than a two-dimensional pretty face. This has become the normal approach now, but at the time, was a rarity. My style also aimed to bridge the gap between streetwear and culture and luxury high fashion.

What do you feel that has changed in this landscape?
I think what’s notable is how the landscape is in a constant and rapid state of change. For this reason I'm always looking ahead, with the intention to be adaptable and to evolve, and to stay ahead of the curve in a way that is truthful and unique to myself.

How do you manage to navigate through this system, staying afloat?
What did Bruce Lee once say? “Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless, like water. Put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, put water into a teapot it becomes the teapot.Water can flow or it can crash, be like water, my friend.” I love that quote, it gives this sense of being ever present, and not changing who you are. I'm water, I'm not trying to be ice, or fire, but be adaptable, be able to manoeuvre with swiftness. But ultimately, outside of constantly reinventing yourself, I'd say nourishing relationships, being true to yourself, kind to others, unapologetic, and believing and loving yourself. And embrace the ever teaching lessons of life, they come in different forms, every single day, you’ll miss them if you’re not looking.

Speaking of mental health and the hardships of being constantly exposed to the public eye, there must be a severe pressure to always ‘show’ parts of you in order to feel valued, coveted and appreciated. How much weight do you give this job, and where do you see yourself in a few years time?
I give this job a lot of weight, and at least the first few years, whilst being immensely enjoyable and deeply fulfilling, I burnt myself out. Which I think is sometimes necessary when starting out, especially if you want to pave your way. Now I have found more of a healthy balance: I know when to turn off, I don’t rush to post in real time all the time the way I used to. I am comfortable saying no to things if it doesn't feel right, I say no to most things. Might I add, I would also do this when I had no work and no money, and I think those no’s led to a lot of the opportunities I have today. In a few years time, specifically, that’s a secret, I keep certain things close to my chest. But every year is an evolution for me, I don’t like cycles of repetitiveness or being complacent or comfortable. So in a few years things are going to look a lot different, a level up.

Andrew wears
coat Dunhill
blazer Denzil Patrick
trousers Dries Van Noten

“The first few years were fulfilling but led to burnout. Now I have found a healthy balance: I know when to turn off and am comfortable saying no to things that don't feel right.”

Andrew Georgiades speaks with Chidozie Obasi
LE MILE .Digital

full look Loro Piana

team credits

seen Tom J. Johnson
styled Daniel D'Armas
grooming Doey Drummond
fashion direction Chidozie Obasi
talent Andrew Georgiades

What is the most challenging aspect of your job, and why?
I think as a creative and artist, and having built a large audience via social media the expectation to be constantly online, live and seen. As we’re in this cycle to show the ‘process’ of everything we do, our entire lives, curating instagram posts, posting stories everyday. Or at least following the landscape to be aware of the shifts and changes, all of these things can be a distraction from the creative process. Historically, when an actor prepares for a role, this happens in silence, when a musician lives the experiences he draws inspiration from to write, or when he records his album, he gives life that space to breathe. Being constantly online can take away from these life experiences you are required to live presently in, and to ’disappear’ in order to return better. This expectation to have this whole process documented in real time, can hinder creative thinking and headspace.

And how about the most satisfactory?
Everything else. The social aspect, meeting and learning from people from all walks of life with all different talents, travelling to the most beautiful places on earth, eating the best food, experiencing unique events you may otherwise not have access to, sporting events, F1, watches and wonders, Festivals, Cinema screenings, Theatre, Live music performances in intimate settings, art exhibitions, fashion shows. I’m a geek. I love the things I love, and this world is a platform to truly experience these things through a unique lens. Also the doors it opens, and the unlimited potential to go wherever you want from here.

What are your plans ahead of your future?
I want to design luxury products, fashion and interior design. I want to act in films, I want to make films, I want to be involved in the production of music, I want to shoot campaigns, I want to feature in campaigns. I want to collaborate with people who I respect, admire and inspire me. I want to inspire people. I want to launch my own brand. I want to live presently, I want to love intensely.

Future hopes for yourself and the industry?
God I don't know, I think I want to move away from virality for the sake of virality. I would love the care to maintain the artforms remain strong with less of the pretentiousness. I don’t have the answers, but I do believe in humanity. I believe I am on the right path.

follow artist @andrewgeorgiades

all images for LE MILE Magazine (c)Tom J. Johnson

Jesse Draxler - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Jesse Draxler
The World Is Mine & I’m Thinking About You

written Natalia Finnis-Smart

In the ever-evolving world of art there are certain artists who continue to leave a lasting impact on its shifting creative landscape. For many, their work transcends time and leaves a lasting, standout legacy that serves as an inspiration to the future.

One of these master originators, who first rose to fame during Tumblr’s early days, is Jesse Draxler. Throughout his career, the creative visionary has remained steadfast in presenting his imaginative creations by way of unapologetic experimentation and aesthetic dogmatism. I recently sat down with the aesthetic trailblazer to delve deeper into the experimentations that fuel his creative output, his latest true-to-form exhibition U&I, and new book The World is Mine and I’m Thinking About You published by Sacred Bones.

Jesse Draxler
THREE MOMENTS OF AN EXPLOSION

“When Tumblr came around, I started using it quite a bit, and I started gaining quite a bit of a following quickly. It changed the entire way that I worked. At that point, it was clear the Internet would be the main mode of distribution of my work moving forward.”

Jesse Draxler speaks with Natalia Finnis-Smart
LE MILE Magazine ISSUE, Nr. 35

Our conversation starts at the root of his meteoric ascent and how it has shaped his early career path. “In hindsight, I reflect on it quite fondly. I see it as a part of an origin story of sorts,” Draxler says. “I was moving a lot. My life was pretty chaotic, but I remember the time leading up to Tumblr.”

“I remember getting a text from a friend saying, ‘You should check out this Tumblr thing.’ I checked it out, and it took off very quickly. It changed the entire way that I worked. At the time, I was focused on making my work look very good in person, thinking that’s how I would get known. When Tumblr came around, I started using it quite a bit, and I started gaining quite a bit of a following pretty quickly. Not easily, but quickly. Then I thought, ‘Okay, this is how everybody is going to see my work.’ At that point it was very clear the Internet was going to be the main mode of distribution of my work moving forward.”

We then delve into how his Midwestern background has shaped the themes he explores in his art and journey altogether. “I’m starting to think about it a little bit more as it emerges in my work. In my show, U&I, there are pictures of deer fur and some bones which I took in Wisconsin, where I'm from, and I chose to use the images for aesthetic reasons, rather than conceptual. Now, reflecting on the way it interacts with everything else, the way it tells a story of where I was and what I was thinking about at the time and what I focused on, I think it’s really influential. I’ve been going back to Wisconsin as much as I can. I have a tiny cabin there. It has become my favorite place to spend free time, when I have any.”

Draxler proceeds to express the role experimentation has played in his process as an artist who blurs boundaries between different mediums, also touching on how to choose the most fitting ones to showcase as part of his artistic vision. “I’m still figuring it out myself. That’s the fun part, you know? Just learning how it works out. It's always changing. It's always progressing. I’ve been thinking a lot about how it's so important that I work directly with my hands. I will work on more conceptual-only projects in some fashion down the road where I don't have to have my hands in everything. But right now, with the way things are unfolding, if I wasn't hands-on with everything and I wasn't constantly using experimentation as a means of creation, none of these pieces would even exist.”

As experimentation is a significant aspect of his work, so are the messages he aims to communicate through his creations. Yet, Draxler acknowledges it can still pose a sense of difficulty because of how audiences are ultimately left with their own interpretations. “That's the hardest question, right? It's really up to the viewer and how they respond to it. I have control up to an extent until they view it. There are many themes of transformation, I would say, in my work, which is very important to me, and much of what I embody is centered on thought-causation as well as challenging the status quo. Those concepts are definitely rooted in my work, but my work is really meant to engage the viewer in a way that provokes them to discover meanings themselves.”

Speaking about his collaborations like those with the late Prince for his PlectrumElectrum album cover and an artistic collection with Alexander McQueen’s sister brand “McQ,” Draxler shares how these influences have shaped his practices and overall evolution. “I feel like, if I do one now, it's going to be a whole different story. The Prince collaboration was a long time ago. That's when I still lived in Minneapolis, and McQueen, that was more recent. Every time I get a big commission, I go through a period of sheer panic because it becomes the most important thing in my life at that moment, I must nail it. There are definitely moments when I'm working on those collaborations where I feel like I cannot do this. I'm about to fail. I have to call them. I have to tell them I can't. I can't deliver the greatness you deserve. I’m sorry. I feel it every time, and I have to push through that. It usually takes days, or it used to. And usually at the end of that, it's the greatest work.”

Jesse Draxler
LIQUID SWORDS

Jesse Draxler
TONER CARCASSALIER

“I’ve been thinking a lot about how it's so important that I work directly with my hands. If I wasn't hands-on with everything and constantly using experimentation as a means of creation, none of these pieces would even exist.”

Jesse Draxler speaks with Natalia Finnis-Smart
LE MILE Magazine ISSUE, Nr. 35

Jesse Draxler
LOVERS, The World Is Mine, I´m Thinking About You
published by Sacred Bones

In relation to his newest creations, Draxler premiered a new exhibition in Los Angeles, titled U&I, that dissects the concept of humans’ relationships to the world around us. “The title of the show goes back to emotional content. Something I've been focusing on recently is the idea of togetherness, even though I don't really like that word. But I guess relationships are on my mind a lot. I don't mean romantic relationships. I mean the relationship between everything, including the relationships we have with the objects in our life, our environment, the T-shirt we're wearing, our toothbrush, everything. I mean, the relationship with everything and how those objects and things we interact with all the time actually influence us. If we change those things, even subtly, how can they change our lives in big, meaningful ways? The title U&I is meant to be kind of a grand name, very inviting as well, open. It's not just me, it's you too. You're part of this, you and me. You're in this with me in some sense. It’s this idea of being more than an individual, blurring the lines of individuality, exploring broad relationships between not just each other, but from macro to micro, the inner world and the outer.”

Draxler’s U&I exhibition featured various artistic expressions, such as the inclusion of conceptual sculptures, video projections, and painted panels which he believes is key to the overall immersive experience. “As I mentioned before, the whole show is like a puzzle box, where the different pieces inform one another in a significant way. Including all of these elements tells a complete story. Including the sculptures is incredibly important because I wanted to highlight the physical aspect of my work. I really wanted the show to have a more experiential quality where people can enter a space and engage with an object, rather than just viewing it from the wall. The video shown outside on the building wall is a process documentary, shot entirely by me, showing the creation of every piece in the show. The videos inside are behind the DJs - vinyl will be spun all night before and between performances. Each performer throughout the evening, of which there are three - Ho99o9, Daniel Davies, and God Is War - has their own projection video created by myself specifically for them.” He goes on… “…those are only viewable on that first night of the exhibition but being able to see all of those along with the physical works, the panels on the walls, and the book, the clothing, I involved many senses because I want it to be all-encompassing. I want this world to envelop you.”

“The title of the show goes back to emotional content. Relationships are on my mind a lot. Not just romantic ones, but the relationship between everything, including the objects in our life, our environment. How those things influence us and can change our lives in meaningful ways.”

Jesse Draxler speaks with Natalia Finnis-Smart
LE MILE Magazine ISSUE, Nr. 35

With the show’s premiere comes his new book, The World is Mine and I’m Thinking About You, which tackles several present day concepts like the role of aesthetics and social media in today’s society. Draxler shares more of his approach to these topics and the conversations he intends to evoke: “I started including screenshots of tweets. I've always thought of tweets as more than just a tweet, especially a really good one. I screenshot a lot of them and have intentions to do things with them eventually. I found all the content for the book by going through my old hard drives and such. I also went through social media because Instagram now has an archive function. I looked back at my stories archive from three and four years ago to see what I was doing. I would come across things and think, ‘Wow, that was really good. I forgot about that.’ Here's another use of social media that's not social, it's just me looking through all that. I started seeing some really good screenshots, and I thought, ‘Oh, that should be in the book, all of that should be in the book.’ It just emerged and evolved from there, using screenshots in a book. There's not really a narrative, it's more like if I include this screenshot, it makes sense to include this one, and I can build on that. If there's any narrative, it's more supposed to be a provocation towards social media. It's meant to be a question of what's going on, how we perceive it, how we accept it, or if we accept it without questioning. By using these screenshots, I was able to communicate my thoughts, reactions, and responses to a lot of current events through social media and what's happening with technology.”

Concluding our conversation, I can’t help but ask his advice for aspiring artists who are beginning to explore their creative paths. “I recently tweeted not too long ago: don’t take advice. It’s common for me to have conflicting beliefs. I always find myself in that situation. I never really took advice from others. If someone gave me advice, I would usually do the opposite or think, ‘Well, that’s what you did. I want to do something different.’ “So, I’ve always avoided giving advice. What I will say is do you as much as you possibly can. That’s what I decided a few years ago, being as me as I can is the best thing I can do for my art.”

Jesse Draxler
FEED

Astrit Ismaili - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Astrit Ismaili
Bloom Unapologetically

written Monica de Luna

Astrit Ismaili, a trailblazer in the realms of performance art and experimental pop, crafts a sonic world where transformation is a lived reality. "The First Flower" project emerges as a vibrant testament to Ismaili's ingenious fusion of sound, narrative, and a profound exploration of identity.

Through an album that transcends conventional music boundaries, Ismaili plunges into the heart of queer experiences, challenging societal norms with every note. This interview unveils the layers of Ismaili's artistic vision, where the act of blooming becomes a bold statement against the backdrop of a world grappling with beauty standards, gender dysphoria, and the quest for queer visibility. With "The First Flower," Ismaili narrates the tale of transformation and at the same time embodies it, inviting listeners to witness the power of metamorphosis and the beauty of becoming.

Astrit Ismaili
art Ville Vidoe
styled GH
hair + make up Elvi
prosthetist + assistant Simon Marsiglia
garments Tra My Nguyen

“Music, especially the singing voice, has transformational properties. It transcends words, becoming universal. My goal is for the music to be catchy, leaving the public with a piece in their head and heart.”

Astrit Ismaili speaks with Monica de Luna
LE MILE Magazine TRANCE, Nr. 36

Monica de Luna
Your work as a performance artist delves into the transformational potential of bodies and spaces. How do you approach the fusion of experimental pop music and performance to explore this concept?
Astrit Ismaili
I believe that music, and especially the singing voice, has transformational properties. The voice, produced from within, and the melodies can often be transcendental. Words that are sung add an emotionality that somehow makes it surpass the meaning of the actual words, therefore it becomes more universal. For me, it is important that the music I make is catchy so that the public leaves the performance with a piece of music in their head and heart!

"The First Flower" project is derived from your previous performance work titled 'MISS.' Could you tell us how the transition from performance to an experimental pop music album took place and what themes you carried over from 'MISS'?
I compose music for all my performances, including ‘MISS’. However, this is the first time that the music of the performance has become an album with the intention to connect with the public outside the realm of live performance. The album deals with many different subjects but is mainly about the courage to transform and ‘bloom’ in hostile environments, and by doing so, not only changing themselves but also the surroundings around them, just like the first flower on earth, which is the totem of the album.

In "The First Flower," you explore the perspective of the world's first flower undergoing physical and spiritual transitions. How did you use this unique perspective to address issues such as beauty standards, gender dysphoria, and queer realities within the context of your album?
The transformation of a plant into the first flower on earth, which is believed to have happened hundreds of thousands of years ago, has indeed revolutionized the entire ecosystem. Knowing that a lot of organisms on earth depend on flowering plants and exist thanks to them. On the other hand, this change came with a big price. The commodification of nature and the extraction of natural resources has brought us to a climate emergency. The songs speak about the industrialization of flowers and climate change but also about queer phenomena that, within the botanical world, happen naturally and undisturbed. The story of the first flower is used as a metaphor to talk about my experience as a queer person navigating environments that work against queerness. Some songs are also quite political and personal and speak about the struggle of identities that are fighting for their political existence in society.

You mentioned using the first flower as a metaphor for queer experience and transformation. Could you dive deeper into how you developed this metaphor throughout the album? Were there any personal experiences or historical events that influenced its integration?
In the song 'Queer Garden,' among other things, the lyrics talk about the sexual fluidity of plants. For example, Avocado trees seamlessly transition between male and female reproductive phases within a span of 36 hours. During the day, they unfurl pollen-producing flowers, while by night, they bloom with pollen- receiving buds. Similar examples exist in nature, and over hundreds and thousands of years, while in our societies, anything that doesn't fit the patriarchal system is oppressed. I, like most queer people, have to navigate in societies that cater to heteronormativity, and metaphorically speaking, "blooming" unapologetically in these environments feels like an image of a flower growing out of concrete.

The album showcases a stylistic hybridity of performance art pop, hyper, gabber, and glam, along with contemporary sound design. How did you decide on these stylistic elements, and how do they contribute to the album's narrative?
The album represents an eclectic selection of genres that somehow influenced me, consciously and unconsciously, in my upbringing. In general, the melodies are quite pop and catchy, but the structures of the songs are actually fighting the traditional structure of a pop song. The songs in the album are rather way longer than the usual songs, and the lyrics are definitely not the basic love songs that one can hear on the radio nowadays. I guess, coming from performance, my approach to writing lyrics is a way to tell non-linear stories, as well as to fabulate, speculate, and be playful. The narrative and the unconventional way of how I compose the melodies for this album asked for a more unique music production approach. The decision to work with different producers for each song and sometimes even a few producers in one song allowed for different references and ideas to come together, and voila, this is what came out!


Your work often involves alter egos, body extensions, and wearable musical instruments. How do these elements help you embody different possibilities for becoming, and what role do they play in your creative process?
Through alter-egos, body extensions, and wearable musical instruments, I try to expand the human body beyond its norms. I question distinctions between natural and artificial, real and fiction, body and machine. By doing so, I want to understand where our bodies start and end and how this extension relates to current socio-political contexts in relation to gender and identity.

“Femininity, like flowers, is seen as delicate but is actually resilient and intelligent. I believe masculinity and femininity exist in nature beyond gender, and I showcase oppressed notions as empowering.”

Astrit Ismaili speaks with Monica de Luna
LE MILE Magazine TRANCE, Nr. 36

Astrit Ismaili

You've touched on reinterpreting femininity within your work. Could you expand on how this exploration has evolved over your career? Are there other aspects of identity politics you're interested in exploring through your future work?
The use of wearable musical instruments, body extensions, and fiction in my work are tools to somehow move further from the bodies and identity questions that we are dealing with today. To be honest, identity politics bore the hell out of me; I wish we did not have to deal with it at all. However, the environment is pressing us to deal with urgent concrete matters because they really affect my life and then also my work. So I find myself in between telling stories that seem urgent and using my voice politically, but more importantly, contemplating future bodies, new bodies, and other possibilities of becoming, referencing material from academia, biology, science fiction, etc.

You've been active in the Kosovo children's music scene since the early 2000s. How has your background in music composition and singing influenced your approach to performance art and experimental music?
Well, I've realised there's a power in being able to do it on your own. So, of course, you never do anything really alone, which is also an illusion, but this thing of working intuitively with the process and not splitting it too much up into parts is something I learned a lot. I think has been working for me and makes it interesting for me to go back to it as kind of my own technique of making music.

And then in terms of next projects, you said you're working on new music, right?
From a very young age, I've been surrounded by women musicians, and singing as a child with my sister surely left a mark on my artistic journey. My grandmother had a great voice and was always singing and telling stories around the house. My mother, Selvete Krasniqi, is a music composer, and she introduced us to music and art. As a teenager, I worked at a radio station and had the chance to listen to and select new music for my show. While doing so, I loved guessing who would be a star. I was right a few times; for example, I guessed that Gaga, Amy Winehouse, and Adele would be big stars when they just came out, and they were. I loved playing that game! Later, but still quite young, I directed a music video for 'E dehun' by Era Istrefi, one of the biggest pop stars in Kosovo. Naturally, pop music became my main field of research, always seeking new sounds, aesthetics, and live pop performances interested in the use of fashion, art, and social questions by pop stars.

However, my obsession with pop music took a different approach and direction in my practice. At first, I was fascinated by the impact of pop music on society. I adopted pop music songwriting and pop performativity in my practice, but my approach was more spatial, experimental with a goal to explore the transformational potential of bodies and spaces. The performance art scene allowed me to take a more conceptual approach and also freed me from the weight of being an entertainer, which is something I am not so interested in my practice. Making this album now has made it very clear that I will continue recording my music in the future. Reaching the public through recorded music is another outlet that creates more accessibility in my work, and I am definitely interested in that!

Can you share how your collaboration with artists like Mykki Blanco and Colin Self shaped the sound and narrative of "The First Flower"?
This project is indeed a dream project. Having the opportunity to work with Mykki Blanco, someone I looked up to for many years who has inspired me and an entire generation with their courageous presence and their cutting-edge work. It's been a total honor to work with Mykki, and their contribution in ‘Miss Kosovo’ has definitely elevated the song artistically and politically, making the song, I believe, an anthem for the underrepresented identities who are fighting to be recognized and acknowledged.

Colin Self produced ‘Voices’, a very personal song to me which actually speaks about my experience of the Kosovo war. Me and Colin are also friends, and they produced a song that is indeed one of my favorites in the album. Working with them has been so inspiring and safe; it's always beautiful working with queer peers and supporting each other. I love our beautiful connection and friendship and appreciate Colin's work as an artist, and I am blessed to have a song with this great artist and friend.

In your artistic practice, femininity is seen through a queer lens as a transformational force. How does your exploration of femininity intersect with your examination of pop culture and identity politics through music and performance?
Flowers seem to be considered feminine and delicate, fragile which usually in society have a connotation to weakness and naivety. But in reality, their story is one of intelligence, sophistication, beauty, and resilience. I feel the same about femininity; I believe both masculinity and femininity exist in nature in different shapes and qualities outside sex and gender. Our bodies are made of both and more. I am always interested in working with notions that are oppressed and showcasing them as empowering.

follow artist @astritismaili_

all images (c) Astrit Ismaili

Patricia Vernhes - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Patricia Vernhes
The Phenomena of Keepin’ On

written Colter Ruland

Patricia Vernhes has gone by many other names. She was professionally known as Pati Yang and formed the bands Children, Flykkiller, and Patti Yang Group. Her Polish birth name is Patrycja Grzymałkiewicz. Her name, like her life and work, is constantly changing and reforming.

Vernhes’s past lives are manifold. She grew up under martial law in Poland, touring with her punk rock stepfather, Jan Borysewicz of the band Lady Pank, as the country transitioned from communism to democracy; she emigrated to London, lying about her age in order to study at university, only to have her visa denied while she bartended during the night to go to class in the morning; she started several experimental bands and released her debut album, Jaszczurka, in 1998 with Sony Records; she moved to the United States by way of New York, where she began some of her first paintings, before finally settling in the desert near Joshua Tree, California.

“Once I stepped out of the car for the first time, I knew I needed to live here. There is ether around, waiting to be filled with ideas, creations, manifested thoughts and wants. It's like living on a blank canvas.”

Patricia Vernhes speaks with Colter Ruland
LE MILE Magazine HEROES, Nr. 32

Vernhes’s interdisciplinary artistic practice is the convergence of these many past and present lives, incorporating elements of sound installation, sculptures, found objects, and abstract painting. No matter the type—she rightly disputes any concrete “classification” of herself or her work—the vein running through her story is the desert in which she currently lives with her new name, creating what she calls a “dialogue with the other side.”

Vernhes lives on a plot of land near the 70,000 acres of wilderness at Black Lava Butte, a part of the Sand to Snow National Monument. This environment, too, is a convergence of multiple ecosystems. This is an area where several deserts exchange boundaries, where chaparral and woodlands are found to the west, the San Bernardino Mountains beyond.

When she came to the desert, Vernhes was struck by the immense quiet: “I consider silence one of the rarest luxuries of the modern world. Once I stepped out of the car for the first time, I knew I needed to live here. There is ether around, waiting to be filled with ideas, creations, manifested thoughts and wants. It's like living on a blank canvas.”

Within the silence that the desert provides, Vernhes founded a studio where she creates sculptural work in an ongoing series called Other One and an experimental audio project called Noirmoutier with her husband Nicolas Vernhes, a music producer, mixer and engineer. The objects Vernhes creates are often encased in plaster and epoxy, an act of simultaneous exaltation and deconstruction. Noirmoutier adds a performance element to her work that, in her words, acts like a “blood pulse in the veins of an image.”

The two utilize a variety of instruments, including a set of 20 binaurally tuned quartz bowls, synthesizers and analog tape delays, to create auditory experiences inspired by the laws of sound, hallucinatory resonance, and sound therapy.

Noirmoutier creates soundscapes that remove referential frameworks and clear structures so listeners can sit with themselves, reminiscent of how animals might perceive, understand, and interpret sound. Their aim is to convey a nonverbal narrative inspired by the stillness of the desert. The same is true of Vernhes’s sculptural work: the structures of objects and how we might expect to interpret them are realigned, pulled out, or hidden altogether. By recasting an object, Vernhes both destroys the original and elevates it as a work of art.

“I can never put an object back where I took it from in exactly the same way. That place will never be the same as it was before I picked it up. It’s a renewal in the sense of giving a new meaning to an object and transferring it, with that new mission, elsewhere.”

Patricia Vernhes speaks with Colter Ruland
LE MILE Magazine HEROES, Nr. 32

While her work can operate separately—here one might point out her sculpture, over there her music—they are meant to work together. This cooperation extends to the environments these objects and sounds reside in.

“I paint with light and shadow and everything that surrounds me.” Vernhes frequently installs her painting and sculptural work in the surrounding hills. Their placement outside in the desert is documented like one might document a rare ritual.

The experience of Vernhes’s work, especially alongside Noirmoutier’s live performances, recalls our oldest stories and the oral traditions they come from—how many of them do not have singular, identifiable authors and are therefore rendered genderless and fluid. Her work, like the oral tradition, is not cemented in written language. Like these stories, often centered on heroes who are emblematic of entire societies or ways of being, Vernhes’s work, rooted in the personal, is emblematic of the universal nature of things: the planet, memory, and existence.

Vernhes cherry-picks elements of larger, unseen dramas.

A camera Vernhes’s grandfather gave to her mother, now covered in plaster, encloses the memories of her familial life in Poland. This sculptural camera, called Les Premiers Pas, recorded Vernhes’s first steps as a child. One only needs to peer a little deeper to see the larger backdrop of growing up during that time.

“One of my earliest memories,” says Vernhes, “is watching the army and tanks outside of our house. Sometimes I see this memory from above, as if I took myself out of it and witnessed it as a ghost. Sometimes I see it abstractly: brutalist architecture, vandalised staircases, rationed food, empty stores, censored art and music that led to a vibrant underground culture, propaganda, double standards in education when we secretly learned at home the ‘other’ history that we weren’t allowed to disclose outside our homes in order to keep our families safe. This phenomena of keepin’ on as if all was OK, as if joy and love were our birthright no one could take away—it was full of polarities.”

It is this phenomena, wild and protean, that Vernhes wrangles and concentrates into her objects. She transmutes the past into profound meditations on purpose and renewal.

A decade ago, Vernhes’s intestines twisted and she nearly died. Her internal scarring, the result of the traumatic handling of her organs in an emergency procedure, formed adhesions. Vernhes, who recently underwent another surgery to address this past trauma, speaks of this time in relation to her own work, of removing and handling objects that form new bonds, adhesions, with worlds they may not be familiar with. A chess board is repainted in order to void its own rules; a large piece of natural driftwood is artificially sealed in white plaster; two lava stones are placed together to form a pair of organs during the pandemic in 2020, when we were only beginning to learn how COVID-19 affects the lungs.

also read
Patricia Carr Morgan *I Love You Don’t Leave Me

The organic and the humanmade become interchangeable, handled with care even if they are forever altered. Like Vernhes’s own body, these objects are reformed to find new purpose. “I can never put an object back where I took it from in exactly the same way. That place will never be the same as it was before I picked it up. It’s a renewal in the sense of giving a new meaning to an object and transferring it, with that new mission, elsewhere.”

Once Vernhes takes an object from its natural state or recast from its original intent, it is an action that has the potential to reverberate throughout time. A river rock, taken from a dry lake bed in Johnson Valley near Landers in the Mojave Desert, might never have been touched by human hands until Vernhes came across it. A Japanese pachinko machine from the 1950s, found in a swap meet, can no longer function properly and dispense euphoria in the same way it was intended.

What kinds of lives do inanimate objects have outside the moments we are aware they exist? Can these things live independently of our involvement?

There is something inherently tense, grand, foreboding, tragic, perhaps comforting about using an object such as a pachinko machine or a river rock as a microcosm for existence. “The rocks are laughing at us,” recalls Vernhes, when she installed several works amongst the harsh shadows of boulders overlooking the desert. One’s existence, like the many lives Vernhes has lived, suddenly becomes so small when placed within a landscape that is millions of years old. So much of Vernhes’s work is about decentering our perceived importance.

There is an elegiac quality to these objects that are irrevocably changed. While they indeed remind us of our own mortality and uselessness, they also remind us that our utility is not codified. All things are able to undergo transformation, and because something has always behaved in one way, it doesn’t mean it cannot be changed. The memories trapped in Vernhes’s camera can simultaneously be about life under martial law or her first steps as a child. The river rock can be mourned for its removal from the desert or it can be lifted from its humble origins onto a pedestal as a remarkable work of art. Vernhes helps us escape from the labels we inflict upon each other and ourselves.

“I am thrilled to send my sculptures into the world so they can change whatever environments they end up in.” Perhaps the rocks, and any other objects Vernhes sends from her small studio in the desert, will carry their laughter with them.

follow artist @patriciacvernhes

Chloë Cassens - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Chloë Cassens
Sacred Monster

written Colter Ruland

There are many ways to first encounter the work of Jean Cocteau. For some, it’s through his poetry and novels; for others, it’s through his films and paintings. While he might have flirted with a number of the major art movements he lived through, he never seemed fully committed to any one in particular, ultimately turning him into a chimera whose influence runs deep within culture, perhaps so deep it runs the risk of being underappreciated.

This is why Chloë Cassens decided to start her educational and essay project SACRED MONSTER: to excavate the surprising connections and lasting influence Cocteau continues to have on everything in contemporary life, from art, to celebrity, to sexuality. A writer and representative of the Severin Wunderman collection (the largest collection of Jean Cocteau in the world), Cassens offers an intimate perspective on a towering figure who has more in common with the art, movies and media you like than you might realize.

Chloë Cassens
seen by Frédéric Tröhler

Jean Cocteau
Illustrated Letter, Portrait of Peggy Guggenheim, s.d. (1956 c.)
Ink on paper, 22,5 x 15,5 cm
Private collection

©Adagp/Comité Cocteau, Paris, by SIAE 2024

“Cocteau’s power and true brilliance comes from the fact that, in my opinion, he and his work were consistent in theme and subject matter, even if it was extremely ahead of its time and taboo.”

Chloë Cassens speaks with Colter Ruland
LE MILE Magazine Digital

Colter Ruland
When was the first time you were conscious of Jean Cocteau’s importance in your own life?
Chloë Cassens
My grandfather passed away suddenly in 2008, and we were very close. I was 14 years old at the time. I remember being drawn quite strongly towards Cocteau’s work in that immediate aftermath, as it made me feel connected to Severin and was absolutely a way to process my grief. It was the first time that I felt really attracted to Cocteau on my own terms. I think that a large part of my ongoing research and interest in Cocteau will be rooted in that grief. It’s an emotional connection for me, in addition to being an intellectual pursuit.

The next issue’s theme is AGE OF CHANGE, which is fitting given that Cocteau worked across a plethora of mediums. Today one might be tempted to call him a nonconformist but what do you think?
I often say that Jean Cocteau is the cultural equivalent of a Rorschact test. What people define him as, or how they know him, really says more about them than it does Cocteau. Cocteau’s power and true brilliance comes from the fact that, in my opinion, he and his work were consistent in theme and subject matter, even if it was extremely ahead of its time and taboo. In some ways, I think the terms to best describe him came after his lifetime, depending on who’s talking. It’s certainly apt to call him a nonconformist. I’m a rock chick at the end of the day, so in my mind, he was Punk before Punk ever existed.

How do you think the response to Jean Cocteau has changed (or stayed the same) over the years?
It really depends on who I’m speaking with. To the film nerds I live with in Los Angeles, he’s a legend (and they’re not aware that he worked in every medium available to him, but think he was simply a filmmaker); the Parisians I hang with can’t believe that he isn’t a household name internationally, to all generations. To people in the art world, he’s on the upswing, especially following the Peggy Guggenheim exhibition in Venice. What’s consistent is that there’s always something to chew on and appreciate. Very rarely do I run into a negative response to Cocteau’s work, especially nowadays, which is interesting seeing as Cocteau wasn’t even cutting edge, but bleeding edge, so far ahead was he! And it’s a hallmark of those who are really at the forefront, cutting new paths and doing things that are truly different, to not be understood or fully appreciated by the public at large.

How do you respond to change in your own life?
I welcome it. I love change and find it comforting. It’s one of the few certainties we have in this life. To go in a woo-woo LA direction, I’m a Scorpio with a stellium in Scorpio. My oldest, closest friend is an astrologer, and tells me that most of those placements are in the 8th house, which signifies rebirth and change, on top of the fact that Scorpios have a propensity towards reinvention. Perhaps it’s just my nature. I get really antsy and irritable when things are too consistent for too long.

You’ve had an interesting trajectory, to say the least, from working at The Roxy as a teenager to DJing to working at The Sex Ed. How do these experiences culminate in your current work as a writer?
Speaking to the way change has affected my life, I’ve always had the mentality that I should roll with it, and go where the wind takes me. I wouldn’t say that I come from a place of “yes”, but rather, a place of “fuck it, why not?” Overthinking things can be my downfall, and jumping into something before asking too many questions has worked out (so far!). I started at The Roxy when I was only 14 years old and told by my parents to get a summer job. I think they would have been satisfied if I’d babysat kids in the neighborhood, but instead I got a job at the local rock club. I didn’t think much of it at the time, I just figured I could walk to work and I liked live music, so I reached out and they were crazy enough to give me a gig.

The same thing happened with The Sex Ed. I was preparing to move to Paris, ironically enough, for a master’s as I was quite stalled at the time. I got an email from Liz Goldwyn saying that we had mutual friends and that because of my DJ experience, could I help with her podcast? I thought to myself, sure, I’ll do this sex thing for a month or two, maybe learn a cool trick before I leave the country, and ended up loving the job so much that I stayed on for four years, and advanced well beyond just producing the podcast.

The same thing happened with SACRED MONSTER. I had the thought that I needed to do it, and jumped in. I started to write, and here we are. There’s never a good time, so you might as well just do that thing now and think about logistics later. While I go where change takes me, I never leave something unfinished, and I never, ever half-ass anything. If I decide to do something, it’s because I think it’s worth my time. If I’ve learned anything, being the granddaughter of someone who was literally called “The Time Lord” while he was alive, it’s that time is our most valuable resource. I absolutely loathe wasting it.

Jean Cocteau
Fear Giving Wings to Courage (La Peur donnant des ailes au courage), 1938
Graphite, chalk, and crayon on cotton, 154,9 x 272,1 cm
Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Mr. Cornelius Ruxton Love Jr

©Adagp/Comité Cocteau, Paris, by SIAE 2024

“Cocteau is relevant to contemporary culture in so many ways. As you mentioned, he was a chimera, always changing, never conforming. Pop stars today are expected to have set 'eras,' which is something he was doing way before the practice.”

Chloë Cassens speaks with Colter Ruland
LE MILE Magazine Digital

Philippe Halsman Jean Cocteau
New York, USA - 1949

©Philippe Halsman / Magnum Photos

Do you think this multi-hyphenate background allows you to better understand the breadth and variety of Jean Cocteau’s work?
I do, to a degree. I have an appreciation for his flexibility in his choice of creative mediums. I think that being literally and figuratively nimble keeps you sharp in life; helps you go further, makes you and your work stronger, and makes you overall a healthier human being in mind and body. Cocteau was constantly experimenting and surrounded himself with young people, which kept his eye looking consistently ahead. I think that perhaps my background has done the same for me.

Do you think there is perhaps a link between your perspective from working at The Sex Ed and the thread of eroticism running throughout a lot of Jean Cocteau’s work? What can this 20th Century eroticism tell us about sexuality today?
I am so grateful to have had my experience at The Sex Ed because it really informs my worktoday in more ways than I can count. First of all, I learned through practice how to educate and meet people where they are on a tough subject. Sex is the background software running in everyone’s life and it informs so much of our decision making, conscious or not. Sex is also extraordinarily taboo, regardless of audience or background or mindset. The deeper I come to understand sex in culture and society the more layers to the taboo there are to discover.

I was hanging out with a new friend, an artist, in Paris not too long ago. He started to tell me that he was interested in exploring some of what he called the “darker” – meaning sexual – aspects of his psyche and incorporating them into his practice. But he was stumped when I asked why he thought merely exploring sex and pleasure would equate to darkness. Maybe for him it was a French, Catholic thing, I don’t know. There’s a lot of really heavy shit tied to sex in that way. At The Sex Ed, we always approached sex from a perspective of joy, emphasizing both the connection between mind and body as well as everyone’s right to pleasure. And I think that Cocteau, in his exuberant, queer – and vulnerable – exploration and depiction of his desires, for lack of a better word, triggered people who clearly had a lot of baggage associated with sex and eroticism. It's a subject that I’m super comfortable talking about. I could talk about sex and art and Cocteau all day long, and again the next day.

Cartier Paris

Academician’s Sword for Jean Cocteau, 1955
Gold, silver, emerald, rubies, diamond, white opal (originally ivory), onyx, blue enamel, and steel blade)
Lunghezza: 87 cm
Cartier Collection

©Adagp/Comité Cocteau, Paris, by SIAE 2024.

Jean Cocteau
Untitled (Sans titre), 1930
Ink on paper, 29,6 x 20,9 cm
Centre Pompidou, Paris. Musée national d’art moderne / Centre de création industrielle, Gift, 2018

©Adagp/Comité Cocteau, Paris, by SIAE 2024

As the representative of The Severin Wunderman Collection (the largest collection of Jean Cocteau in the world), how do you think Jean Cocteau remains relevant in contemporary culture at-large?
I think Cocteau is relevant to contemporary culture in so many ways. As you mentioned, he was a chimera, always changing, never conforming. Pop stars today are expected to have set “eras,” which is something he was doing way before the practice. He integrated the personal into his artistic output in a way that is also pretty normal today but was really looked down on in his time. He worked with whatever technology he had available to him, and wasn’t set in one medium, which is almost expected today. I think for sure he would be on TikTok, and would’ve been early to MySpace and Instagram had he been alive today. The tendency towards provocation I also think is relevant to today. Whether or not he enjoyed it, necessarily, he certainly poked the bear and participated in the 20th century French art world equivalent of what we call rap beefs today (the Surrealists were always big mad at Cocteau for one reason or another). Cocteau understood the attention economy in ways that his contemporaries didn’t.

Your project SACRED MONSTER is a bi-monthly essay project exploring Jean Cocteau, his friends, your grandfather Severin Wunderman, and contemporary culture. Some of the essays chart surprising territory, like connecting the dots between surrealism and Vanderpump Rules, for instance. How do you think the scope of the project will evolve over time?
The scope will evolve as I do, hopefully. I’ve already found that I work best in a “one for them, one for me” pattern with one educational Cocteau deep dive and one slightly broader cultural deep dive per month (like the Vanderpump/Surrealism piece). It’s always anchored and rooted in Cocteau, which is great, because there really is no limit to subject matter there. But I also hope to connect dots elsewhere when it comes to Cocteau and the meeting point between whatever you want to call it—high and low culture, academia and pop. I’m really excited about a piece I’m working on about K-Pop, Blackpink and how they are the latest example of a practice originating from Louis XIV and his cultivation of soft power via French arts and culture.

What was it like being surrounded by Jean Cocteau’s work throughout your life? I understand you even grew up around objects that were originally in his film La Belle et la Bête.
It was, more than everything, a privilege to grow up in this environment. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about how stupidly lucky I am to have had the experience and childhood I had.

Did your grandfather ever express how any of Jean Cocteau’s works made him feel?
He didn’t really speak to me about the emotion of it, but I think that there certainly was an element of pride to it. He was surrounded by a collection he worked extremely hard to be able to afford and acquire. He really lived and breathed and immersed himself in it, and anyone in his orbit had no option but to share in that environment as well. Pride and love.

Is there a particular work of Jean Cocteau’s that you continue to find something new in over time?
I always find something new and interesting in La Belle et La Bête. It’s an extremely kinky, layered piece of cinema history, and because it’s a great entry point for people unfamiliar with Cocteau, I find myself watching it a lot. I’ve yet to tire of it. I’ve also been revisiting Cocteau’s erotic novel Le Livre Blanc, which was so scandalous that he originally published it anonymously, as well as Le Testament d’Orphée, which was his final film and a sort of self-written eulogy. If you’re a die-hard fan of David Bowie, which I am, Le Testament d’Orphée was without doubt the blueprint for Blackstar.

What is next for you and SACRED MONSTER?
I have a lot coming. In a lot of ways, SACRED MONSTER is a central place for me to collect all of my work around Cocteau that’s accessible from anywhere in the world, because a lot of what I do involves in-person speaking and lecturing—and I’ll go anywhere that will have me, so don’t hesitate to reach out! I dream of taking SACRED MONSTER global and speaking in places that are new to me, like Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, truly anywhere. Have passport, will travel. I also have plans for exhibitions and projects that extend past my current essay format.

When it comes to SACRED MONSTER and Jean Cocteau, I guarantee that there is something to interest everyone. You’ll really just have to subscribe and follow along. I promise that if you do, you’ll end up a little bit smarter, which can’t hurt—unless you’re into that kind of thing, in which case, I’m always happy to oblige.

Agnes Obel - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Agnes Obel
The Power and Poise

written Chidozie Obasi

Denmark-born, Berlin-hailed multi-hyphenate artist Agnes Obel has an ability to walk a fine line creating records that are both emotive and raw. But the beauty of her work is that her entrancing, soul-laden voice also has the prowess to leap from alt-pop to indie, connecting the dots with emotional power.

“As a songwriter, I think the stuff I aim towards journey across a conscious level, turning into a quite subconscious state,” she details, with no signs of peacocking braggadocio on display. “So when I’m writing,” she explains, “I can see a pattern that isn’t planned: It’s sort of happens with a natural frequency, which ignites the longing of the most intimate emotions that run through my music.”

The singer’s impressive depth shines through the polarity of her practice—fear, love and grief are all in the picture, a canvas she meticulously curates by writing, recording and producing on her own terms—but it’s always by the sheer soulfulness and powerful ingenuity of the music, and the way Obel sings even the darkest lyrics with rhythmic and melodic daring. “I really like how language, when working metaphorically, can make the mind jump to different places,” she says, adding how “sometimes people wonder if my lyrics are truly about anything, but it's just how my imagination works.” Pure, gloomy and impactful, her vocals sit in the passenger seat of our consciousness, wrapping us in a comforting blanket of melodic thrills and poignant lyricism.

Agnes Obel
seen by Christopher Puttins

blazer MARKE
dress AVENIR

total look WILLIAM FAN

“I think the stuff I aim towards when making music journey on an unconscious level, quite subconscious dare I say. So when writing, I can see a pattern, but not a planned one: It’s sort of what is happening on a naturally-driven flow, which makes longing the biggest emotion that runs through my music, and again it’s not done on purpose.”

Agnes Obel speaks with Chidozie Obasi
LE MILE Magazine TRANCE, Nr. 36

seen CHRISTOPHER PUTTINS
styled CHIDOZIE OBASI
hair + make up KATJA MAASSEN
coordination DENNIS CAPPABIANCA
photo assistant MORITZ HILKER
talent AGNES OBEL

special thanks to Chateau Royal Berlin
LE MILE shot Agnes Obel in the Apartment of Chateau Royal Berlin

Chidozie Obasi
I'd love to begin by taking a trip down memory lane. What's your earliest memory of music?
Agnes Obel
Well, you know what? I truly can't recall a particular memory or moment that made me fall in love with music, but I guess there’s a few. I don't even know what my first memory is [Laughs]. I started playing piano really early, and my piano teacher was a cellist, who also played the instrument. She quickly discovered that I loved a particular repertoire, and the one I was really into was that of Impressionist pianists. I was 10 at the time, and I bought a compact disc with a DVD that played Debussy’s Clair de Lune: I don’t exactly remember the version, but I still have the CD somewhere at home and every time I listen to it, it provides me this out-of-body musical experience. I somewhat realised this piece was the start of a journey.

Could you agree that growing up in Denmark has impacted your sound in a way?
Undoubtedly so. We are all a product of where we grew up, and I feel like my parents truly influenced me in many ways. Also, the media I was exposed to rendered my experience of music and the repertoire I liked as a kid. But I guess a lot of the music my parents played back in Denmark was a of a simple kind. If they played classical music, it was more instrumental, but when they played jazz, it was more of an upbeat kind. I feel like I got my candour and simplicity from them.

A large fraction of your repertoire sounds lyrically cathartic and poignant, with a somewhat mystic layer that punches right into the soul. What exactly are the emotions that you wish to express in your music?
I think the stuff I aim towards when making music journey on an unconscious level, quite subconscious dare I say. So when writing, I can see a pattern, but not a planned one: It’s sort of what is happening on a naturally-driven flow, which makes longing the biggest emotion that runs through my music, and again it’s not done on purpose.

Do you think that, aside from longing, loss is another component of your repertoire? Because there’s a blend of love and melancholy in Riverside, for example, which stretches to Familiar, and I trust there’s someone or something subconsciously hidden you’re referring to.
It’s fun to personify things that echo on in your mind, and I really like how language, when working metaphorically, can make the mind jump to different places. Here in Germany, there's a strong tradition for one-to-one lyrics. And that's when I made Familiar: I was working in a studio next to German pop songwriters, and I realised that everything I wrote was a metaphor. I'm completely aware it doesn't always work, and sometimes people wonder if my lyrics are truly about anything. But it's just how my imagination works.

Starting from the soft and honest lyricism of Philharmonics (your 2011 album), and then walking through the highways of the Aventine (your 2013 album), you round up with Myopia, creating an extraordinary sonic journey that blends emotion and execution. How do you keep feeding your sound?
I think all humans process the world through storytelling, and when stuff happens to us, we make stories about them in different ways. I’ve found my way of making stories. I try as hard as I can because I write on my own, and I develop avenues I have maybe traveled to or I try to avoid. So here's so many things I can do and try to repeat. In my studio, I have settings for each single song. On technical terms, I have a setting for various voices. So I can, of course, go down the same sound route if I want to. Sometimes I try, as I use literature a lot, to feed my mind with words and ideas by finding a way of expressing what I feel. For example, now I have kids I feel like being pregnant was really crazy. It's like you have this cycle of biology happening inside of you and you have no control. I thought it was very inspiring and also a little scary. And now this feeling I have from becoming a parent I believe is one that relates to universalism, where you kind of feel love for everything except yourself. I never really had anything like that before. It's a very strange thing, a weird phenomenon that happens to your brain. I tried to become familiar with that through literature.


What does the familiar mean to you? There’s so many ambiences in your songs, like the river, the curse, the Aventine. There’s also a wealth of emotional and physical places that are very familiar to you, which are recurrent in your pieces.
I feel like I can only sort of make music from a very calm place. There's an element of irritation. I think that in Familiar, there was some irritation, but it was a sort of fear. I was annoyed at that sort of this fearfulness of the transformation and of what that could be. In this case, it was love. It's like the idea of a love or a thing that could exist, but there's this fear of what the outside world would think.

“We are all a product of where we grew up, and I feel like my parents truly influenced me in many ways. Also, the media I was exposed to rendered my experience of music and the repertoire I liked as a kid. But I guess a lot of the music my parents played back in Denmark was of a simple kind. If they played classical music, it was more instrumental, but when they played jazz, it was more of an upbeat kind. I feel like I got my candour and simplicity from them.”

Agnes Obel speaks with Chidozie Obasi
LE MILE Magazine TRANCE, Nr. 36

total look BOBKOVA

And was there a particular moment that you found lost in your music and went through a state of myopia that made you refrain from writing?
Absolutely. When I made Myopia, that's the only time I really had a hard time making an album. And I can also tell now when I listen to it: My father died in 2014, and I'm not able to process it yet. However, I said to myself that I’d just keep going and continue whatever I'm doing. And then I think grief and sorrow really hit me when I made Myopia. I was making music alone sitting in a little box by myself, and when you’re zoned out in your loneliness it hits you very hard, particularly when it’s someone so close that you’ll never going to see again. Even though this loss made the whole writing process difficult, it was also inspiring: I was trying to work by pitching down my voice again, like I've done with Familiar, to represent this feeling of an undercurrent of voices, people, spirits and characters who are part of our lives, but fade at some point. You can feel their presence in a way, and I was trying to represent that sound-wise and lyrically, endlessly experimenting with both.

What have you learned about your music over the years?
Well, I've realised there's a power in being able to do it on your own. So, of course, you never do anything really alone, which is also an illusion, but this thing of working intuitively with the process and not splitting it too much up into parts is something I learned a lot. I think has been working for me and makes it interesting for me to go back to it as kind of my own technique of making music.

And then in terms of next projects, you said you're working on new music, right?
Yes, I’m working on a new album and it’s feeling incredibly cathartic, yet again. And I’ll tell you: there’s something about the brain that believes that you've finished the process, but there’s a punchy beat that keeps pulsating inside, so now I'm like [pauses momentarily…] well, maybe I shouldn't give away too much.

follow artist @agnesobel
discover online www.agnesobel.com

all images (c) Christopher Puttins

Enzo Lefort - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Enzo Lefort
Fancing Frontier

written Sarah Arendts

With a blend of skill and style, Enzo Lefort invites us into the intricate realm of his sport, where athleticism meets artistry in a symphony of movement. Lefort's journey to the forefront of fencing is a testament to dedication and innovation.

With each fluid motion, he challenges the status quo and pushes the boundaries of athletic expression. Engage with Enzo Lefort as he shares insights on its evolution, the fusion of athleticism and fashion, and his unwavering commitment to inspiring future generations of athletes. Learn all on the arena where passion ignites performance, and witness the extraordinary through the lens of a true visionary.

Enzo Lefort
seen by Jojo Harper

“Being able to compete at the Olympics at home is a once-in-a-lifetime chance! […] My goal is to make everyone who is going to watch me proud.”

Enzo Lefort speaks with Sarah Arendts
LE MILE Magazine TRANCE, Nr. 36

Sarah Arendts
Enzo, as a fencer who has reached the pinnacle of your sport, how do you balance the intense focus required in competition with relaxation and leisure in your personal life?
Enzo Lefort
Professional sport can be really challenging on a daily basis, as failure has a constant place in our journey. I personally try to always have side projects outside of fencing. These projects help me keep my head fresh and always be fulfilled. It is important as I need to put this mental energy into my competitions.

Your collaborations with Louis Vuitton and Nike merge the worlds of elite sport and high fashion. How do you see these partnerships influencing the perception of fencing within the fashion industry and among its followers?
Fencing is kind of a "niche" sport with a really poor representation on TV. I feel that being able to work with these two leaders in their industries proves that visibility isn’t everything. Nowadays, people often think about your number of followers and your reach. I personally think you can be more legitimate by being true to yourself, having a great image, and doing beautiful and useful things outside your sport.

During a match, athletes often describe entering a ‘zone’ or a state of flow that feels like a trance. Can you share an experience when you were completely absorbed in the moment? How does this mental state contribute to your performance?
This is a state of mind where your body moves by itself. You’re so in phase and in the present moment that you’re not thinking anymore. By instinct, you take all the good decisions during the action, leading you to see everything slower, as if you were outside your body! I’m lucky enough to have felt this feeling in the Olympic Games finals in Tokyo 2021 team event!

With the Paris 2024 Olympics on the horizon, what does competing in your home country mean to you personally and professionally? How are you preparing for this monumental event in your career?
Being able to compete at the Olympics at home is a once-in-a-lifetime chance! I like to think I train harder than ever to give my very best on the day of the competition! My goal is to make everyone who is going to watch me proud. I’m thinking about my wife, my daughter, my parents, my sister, my friends, and the whole French people! I’m also aware of the spotlight that will be pointed at the athletes during these months. And I try to use them to shed light on my personal projects such as my charity or my documentary about fencing in Guadeloupe that I wrote.

Fencing is a sport with deep historical roots. How do you think modern technology and training methods are changing the game, and where do you see the sport going in the next decade?
Modern technology and training methods help fencing become more spectacular, in a physical way and in terms of visual show for the spectators. I can see the sport evolving even further in these two directions during the next decade.

Working with brands like Louis Vuitton and Nike, how do you ensure that sponsorships align with your personal values and the essence of fencing? What do you look for in a partnership?
Fencing being an amateur sport, I need these sponsorships in order to make a living from it. But not at any cost. I am really paying attention to the brand I work with, matching my image in terms of values and positioning. I always make sure the brand I’m working with will help me with my side projects such as photography, my podcast, or my charity. Also, I pay attention to the brand being subtle when it communicates, especially using my image.

As a prominent figure in fencing, you have a unique platform. How do you hope to use your influence to impact the sport and inspire the next generation of athletes?
I always make sure that I share the values of sport such as hard work, resilience, fair play... I also try to show that we can be more than athletes, that there are other things we are good at. I reached a moment in my life and my career where I can give back to the younger ones and the ones in need. At my very own level, I try to help those in need, and if everyone is doing the same, things can change.

With your keen eye for fashion, how do you integrate style and functionality in your training and competition wear? How important is personal style in expressing yourself within the sport?
When it comes to fashion in training and competition, I am very functional. I tend to wear mostly black outfits, but I pay attention to the materials and the fit of my clothes. I personalize my outfit with my "jewelry," a thing that other fencers mostly don’t do. Fencing is a very normative sport, and the uniform is very codified. I like to keep my freedom wearing my personal jewels, in order to keep my personality.

“By instinct, you take all the good decisions during the action, leading you to see everything slower, as if you were outside your body! ”

Enzo Lefort speaks with Sarah Arendts
LE MILE Magazine TRANCE, Nr. 36

The mental aspect of sport is often as challenging as the physical. How do you maintain mental health and resilience during the highs and lows of your career?
My different projects outside of fencing help me to always be curious, to always learn new things. Doing this, my mind isn’t filled 100% of my time with fencing. Because when you win, everything is perfect, but when you lose, you see yourself as someone not capable. Doing other things outside my sport really helps me to relativize this.

Looking towards the future, what legacy do you hope to leave in the world of fencing and beyond? How do you want to be remembered both as an athlete and as a person?
In my sport, I would like to be remembered as an athlete who always played by the rules, who never cheated, and who respected every single one of his opponents. And then, I would like to be remembered as someone who marked the history of his sport. And then I will do my best effort to help and empower the next generation of athletes in sport.

follow talent @enzo_lefort

all images (c) Jojo Harper

William Fan - Interview

.aesthetic talk
William Fan
Crafting Futures

written Alban E. Smajli

William Fan is scripting a new narrative in modern design, fusing his rich cultural heritage with an avant-garde approach to fashion. His designs emerge as an eloquent dialogue between architectural rigor and fluid dynamism, boldly questioning the industry's entrenched norms.

With each collection, Fan weaves together Asian heritage and European design sensibilities, crafting a sartorial rebellion that defies traditional boundaries and celebrates sustainability. Through his latest endeavors, Fan explores themes of gender fluidity and inclusivity, pushing the boundaries of conventional fashion. Fan's staunch commitment to using dead-stock materials and partnering with family-run businesses underscores his devotion to ethical fashion practices. This journey sets a bold new standard for what it means to be a designer today but also cements Fan’s status as a visionary and a profound storyteller in the ever-evolving fashion landscape.

William Fan
seen by Clemens Poloczek

“I feel the most empowered when I work close to my heritage because it feels the most authentic. The many travels to Hong Kong influenced my perspective on beauty, craftsmanship, and tradition. I look for the balance between Asia and Europe in every season.”

William Fan speaks with Alban E. Smajli
LE MILE Magazine TRANCE, Nr. 36

Alban E. Smajli
William, your journey in fashion has been inspirational and transformative. Could you share how your cultural heritage influences your design philosophy and how it has evolved over the years?
William Fan
When I started my brand, and also during my studies, I wanted my collections to be personal and close to my identity. I feel the most empowered when I work close to my heritage because it feels the most authentic. The many travels to Hong Kong influenced my perspective on beauty, craftsmanship, and tradition. I look for the balance between Asia and Europe in every season. In the beginning, the contrasts were more hard and visible. Nowadays, it has become a grey zone where you can hardly see the lines. It's more diffused now, like we work on the theme of unisex. You hardly notice which gender it's meant to be.

In your creative process, how do you enter a state of flow or "trance" to conceptualize and bring your visions to life?
I like to build up a storyline. At first, we started with a party night, 'THE DAY AFTER' came as a consequence. Then we had an afternoon in Chinatown and ended up in a karaoke bar. You know, it’s almost like a biographical film book; I try to visualize every occasion.

Now we've entered the 'CEREMONY' era, which is the current collection. Every season has a theme, and from that feeling, we create a full-vision world. From the set design to the music, we want to escape with our community and dive into 15 minutes of dreaming.

Your designs are known for their unique blend of architectural precision and fluidity. How do you balance these elements, and how has this signature style evolved in your SS24 collection?
I like to think about a functional wardrobe with a twist—things you can wear and be real about. Our garments are built to function and always have a little twist in color, texture, and material. I think clothing needs to move and flow and give the customer enough space between the body and the garment itself. I’m not a big fan of a very tight fit. If so, it’s knit where you still have the stretch element. I like to empower with simplicity and precise tailoring. Sometimes more formal, sometimes more playful. This season was a lot about textures and fabrics. The colors were mainly inspired by the LGBTQI+ Flag, which is mainly represented in monotone, single-color block looks. Furthermore, we questioned how we dress for ceremonial occasions and which general rules are given.

Can you give us a glimpse into the making of the SS24 collection? What were the key inspirations, challenges, and breakthrough moments during its development?
The SS24 collection was named 'CEREMONY,' and it's all about the special days we celebrate in our lives. Big Birthdays or Weddings. I got married myself in 2022 and was quite critical of what you have to do and all the rules you need to follow. We started researching Asian and European traditions—for example, for marriage. The red wedding in China and the white wedding in Europe. I wanted to be inclusive and make a statement through the rainbow color flag from the LGBTQI+ community. I wanted to put a sign out that everybody should have the same rights to celebrate, for example, a wedding independently of your sexuality. I gave a male model the veil or the final bride look a black short-sleeve tuxedo with feathers. For me, it felt very adult and emancipated.

Sustainability is a critical conversation in fashion today. How are you integrating sustainable practices into your work, particularly with the SS24 collection?
We work exclusively with dead-stock materials. I like that way of using non-wanted resources and having a limited choice. That also means that most of the products are limited in their availability. All the manufacturers I am working with are visited personally a few times a year. I'm lucky to build up great relationships with family-owned businesses.

Everyone is very innovative when developing new styles. We don’t overproduce our products, and we never go on sale. I want to create a value that is hopefully long-lasting and sustains many trends and decades.


Reflecting on your career, who has been your most significant mentor, and what was the most valuable lesson you learned from them?
I had many people supporting me from the beginning. To be honest, I would say my parents. They always taught me to be bold and proud, regardless of where and who you are at the moment. I always keep saying: Fake it till you make it. This helped me through many moments :)

“I feel privileged to be able to have the runway medium and the city of Berlin, which offers so many monumental spaces. From the TV Tower to the Underground, I've tried all levels in Berlin to express my emotions through many spectacular locations.”

William Fan speaks with Alban E. Smajli
LE MILE Magazine TRANCE, Nr. 36

Fashion shows can be mesmerizing, almost trance-like experiences for the audience. How do you aim to evoke this sense of immersion and emotion in your runway presentations?
I feel privileged to be able to have the runway medium and the city of Berlin, which offers so many monumental spaces. From the TV Tower to the Underground, I've tried all levels in Berlin to express my emotions through many spectacular locations. I love to tell a story when it comes to runway presentations. Mostly, I'm looking for a space that has a certain power and an interesting history to tell. I also like to work with all senses. The moment you come into the venue, you will immediately experience a certain smell, texture, or lighting. Then the music starts, and I have 15 minutes to tell the concept of more than 6 months of intensive work.

From all the pieces you've created for the SS24 collection, is there one that stands out to you as a personal favorite or holds a special meaning? If so, why?
I’m a big fan of the 'Are you a friend of Dorothy?' jumper. A "friend of Dorothy" (FOD) is a euphemism for a gay man, first used in LGBT slang. Stating that, or asking if someone is a friend of Dorothy, is a furtive way of suggesting sexual orientation while avoiding hostility. I like the way to use historical references to hopefully remember we never need to talk in euphemisms again to express our sexuality.

What's next for William Fan? Are there any new projects, collaborations, or directions you're particularly excited about exploring in the near future?
Many new product groups will be added, and our new gift shop 'FAN PLAZA' just opened its doors a few months ago. We now have spaces for new visuals in partnership with artists, partners, and friends. I like the idea of bringing networks together that share the same love for small details and art.

follow artist @studiowilliamfan
discover online www.williamfan.com

all images (c) Clemens Poloczek

Fernando Lindez - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Fernando Lindez
Coming of Age

written Chidozie Obasi

Fernando Lindez is a bona fide heartthrob: He’s the kind of person who doesn’t wake up in a bad mood, and when he picks up the Zoom call to speak to me, he’s already in good spirits, laughing charismatically between sips of water.

Throughout our conversation, Lindez strikes as someone who is both insightful and honest, whether we’re discussing his wildest dreams - having been an aficionado of the movie industry for years, he believes in the power of community culture as a weapon of growth - or the challenges of being in the public eye from a young age. “I honestly never liked being in front of a camera and actually hated it!” He exclaims, cheerfully, radiating emotion as you’d expect from a man whose career basks in the limelight from iconic appearances in the world’s leading runways to iconic series such as Elite. He isn’t all sunshine and light though: Lindez revealed some of his most challenging experiences, but it was his own insecurities that helped him find common ground in life and in the characters he played. Wielding a coming of age cast, including the likes of Mirela Balic, Ivan Mendes and Nadia Al Saidi, his role in Elite has been making serious waves. From his initial career dabs, and living up to popular expectations, to mental health – we dug deep.

FERNANDO LINDEZ wearing
total look VERSACE

LE MILE Magazine
TRANCE Issue, No. 36 Cover Fernando Lindez
wearing MOSCHINO

“I honestly never liked being in front of a camera and actually hated it! But now that I've seen all the videos or the episodes, it's funny to remember everything that I did in that project.”

Fernando Lindez speaks with Chidozie Obasi
LE MILE Magazine TRANCE, Nr. 36

Chidozie Obasi
With everything that has happened over the years, have these times of uncertainty affected your identity in a way?
Fernando Lindez
I think this period was a great one for me, particularly because I had the chance to be involved in projects where I learned a lot from my partners, from the directors I met and the people I had the chance to work with. I think it affected me in a positive way and made me grow as a professional, particularly as an actor. Obviously the pandemic crisis badly affected the film industry and the fashion sector too, but I feel like it's slowly getting better.

How did you get into fashion?
It was all pure casualty! I honestly never liked being in front of a camera and I actually hated it. But it all started around 2016 or 2017, with no social media. I remember a friend of mine posted a photo with me on Instagram and an agent from Uno Models here in Spain saw that picture, and then he reached out to my friend.

What was your wildest dream as a kid?
When you're a kid, it's difficult to have only one: I wanted to be a lot of things. I wanted to travel all over the world to record and talk about nature. And of course, the thing about acting was surely more in my mind than modeling when I was younger. I really liked movies, and became passionate about the film industry from early on. So I always thought about becoming a great actor.

Would you say that your Spanish upbringing has influenced you in your career in a way?
No, I don't think so. I move by my personality, what I learn from the people I’ve met, from the things I experience in life and work.
Obviously, I know where I come from and I really appreciate my culture: It’s one of the best in the world for me. But I'm always open to listening to other cultures, to learn from other people and I don't think I'm attached to just being Spanish I always like to grasp aspects from other realities: I think it's good to open your mind in that way.

total look VALENTINO

top CELINE

team credits
seen PAOLO BARRETTA
fashion director CHIDOZIE OBASI
style editor DENNIS CAPPABIANCA
grooming ANNA PELLEGRINI
light assistant LORENZO OGLIALORO

“I think that when you are in a bad position and when you are feeling bad, you just have to say it. And you have to know when to stop.”

Fernando Lindez speaks with Chidozie Obasi
LE MILE Magazine TRANCE, Nr. 36

blazer + tie MOSCHINO
trousers VALENTINO

Starting from fashion, you've also transitioned into the film industry with various roles. So how did it all begin?
So it all started at the same time, both modeling and acting. I remember when I started in fashion, they also called me for an audition for a TV Show. I didn't even have a lot of experience into the acting industry. But now that I've seen all the videos or the episodes, it's funny to remember everything that I did in that project, which was my first one. And I only have happy memories about it. After that, I discovered I could act and I was able to do it. I wanted to learn more, so I got into acting in schools to learn more about this practice, and I'm still doing it. I think it's a profession where one is always learning.

And then what would you say that was your hardest role to ever take as an actor?
I think on Escándalo, which is a Spanish TV show. For me, it was very hard because it was my first big project as a main character. It was also a character who experienced a lot of difficulties during the story and with a really big internal problem. He had a lot of traumas from the past, so for me it was difficult to find the way this character was living with how he reacted to all the people he was having relations with during the show. It was my first time doing sex scenes too, a very hard pick for me. But, you know, it was great because I had the chance to work with Alexandra Jimenez, who is a really good actress here in Spain: she was very professional, a really good partner.

And then in terms of the outside pool of people, have you ever felt pressured to be anyone else that maybe you were not feeling quite close to in the film industry or in any roles that you took on as an actor?
Not yet, but I think as an actor, if I take a role or a character it's because I really want to do it and because I feel like I can be that person.

For example, in Elite, at the beginning, I was a bit afraid because I was playing a homosexual character. I’m not, so I wanted to hide that. However, I didn't want people to see a heterosexual guy playing as a gay actor, but I had Omar, which is a very close friend of mine, who was always supporting me and telling me how to move, how to speak, how to react to things in a way that I don't usually do. And that also helped me a lot. But it was something that was extremely interesting to me. Of course, I put some things from my own, from Fernando to Joel (the character in Elite), but it's a mix of everything that pushed me further to grow.

Would you ever consider going into production or directing?
I mean, right now, I would say no. Because I'm focusing on my acting career and I feel like I have so many things to learn, so many things to improve. I like the job as a director more than a producer. But I will see in the future. For the moment, what I want to put my focus on is acting.

How do you feel projects like Elite have developed you as an actor or just as a creative in general?
It's been almost one year and a half of filming: we filmed two seasons, and especially in the last one, my character had a lot of weight. For me, it was more difficult than the one we filmed before. And now that it’s been produced, I can say it was a big challenge for me because I did things that I never did before. I learned a lot from that and from my partners. It was a really, really good experience for me, which I’m grateful for.

What would you say is the biggest thing that you've learned from this experience?
Compañerismo! Being together. We were a big group of actors and actresses. So yeah, I would say working on a team. The power of collaboration and of being together, and also crafting a good relationship with your partner for me, it was the most important thing because we were always helping each other. And as an actor, I think it's very important to be always open to help others. Because if you help others, they will help you.

total look HERMES

And what were the most difficult and challenging ones that you navigated when you were both in fashion and also now as an actor?
I had those complex moments. Especially, I remember, after the pandemic: a period where I really struggled with nutrition. I wasn’t in a good position, mentally. So I had to take a break to focus on myself, on my body, and on my mental health. I think that when you are in a bad position and when you are feeling bad, you just have to say it. And you have to know when to stop. You have to know your limits, and it's important to know yourself and to know where those limits are. Nowadays, I like to take care of my mental health: I go to therapy here in Madrid, teamed with sports. Together, these habits help to maintain a good mental and emotional balance.

Would you ever consider going into production or directing?
I mean, right now, I would say no. Because I'm focusing on my acting career and I feel like I have so many things to learn, so many things to improve. I like the job as a director more than a producer. But I will see in the future. For the moment, what I want to put my focus on is acting.

And in terms of social media and your image, you've become a mega star since Elite. How do you cope with the public, and how does bad and good criticism affect your mental health?
I always try to put limits on my social media, as I only have Instagram.
But, I'm also someone who doesn't like to show a lot of my intimate persona on those platforms. I feel a bit afraid, I have to be honest, of showing my life and talking to people on there. Because of the the public opinion which can demonise or categorize you in a bad way.

What is next for you?
I want to move to New York for a couple of months, I will see! don't know when I will move to that place, and I don't know when I want to leave. But yeah, I want to go there and, you know, continue modeling there in the States as well and grow as an actor and as a person.

follow artist @fernando_lindez
via Why Not Models

Journey of Hope - Documentary

Journey of Hope
A Mosaic of Dreams & Resilience in Mumbai

written Alban E. Smajli

Capturing a raw confluence of art and historical epochs, Journey of Hope sheds light on the fierce spirit of those who dared to dream beyond boundaries.

Amesh Wijesekera and Shetty Karthik, a trailblazing designer-photographer duo, present 'Journey of Hope'—a visceral photo narrative inspired by the bold escapades of young South Indian boys carving out new destinies in Mumbai's pulsating heart, drawing from the spirit of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The vibrant backdrop of Mumbai's historic Bandra district encapsulates the poignant transition from traditional innocence to cosmopolitan agility. As the sun dips below the horizon, each frame bathed in the golden hues of dusk tells a story of change, challenge, and ultimate triumph. On his first journey through India, Amesh channels a fresh perspective into a raw exploration of identity and belonging. Mumbai's air is thick with the aroma of spices and the cacophony of bustling streets, creating a sensory collage that blurs the lines between foreign and familiar. Amidst this overwhelming mix, Amesh crafts a narrative of homecoming, finding connections in the chaos.

The fashion narrative strikes with undeniable force. Traditional South Indian silhouettes, once tethered to the looms of rural artisans, transform into modern masterpieces under Amesh's deft hand. Artisanal knitwear, crochet, and handwoven textiles from Sri Lanka punctuate the global fashion discourse. This sartorial evolution transcends mere display, encapsulating the adaptive journey of these young pioneers. Each piece, infused with their heritage, tells a story of cultural fusion and expanding horizons.

team credits

seen + creative SHETTY KARTHIK
stylist + designer AMESH WIJESEKERA
models NASIRUDDEEN RAVUTHAR + PRATIK KUMBHAR + KAVIRAJ + ANKITH

(c) Shetty Karthik & LE MILE, 2024

Ginny on Frederick - Interview

Tiny Galleries
REJIG: Ginny on Fred
Ginny on Frederick, London

written Tagen Donovan

Traditional gallery settings have become even more unattainable than ever before. In its place is a burgeoning mecca of alternative-everyday spaces, seamlessly forging art integration into daily life, while expanding outreach and accessibility within its locale.

As we navigate the transition beyond the homogenised landscape of white walls, high ceilings and intimidating invigilators, a newly emerged resistance movement is taking a stance.

This movement spurs a community-based approach to showcasing art. In the last decade, artists and curators have hit the ground running in developing environments that situate themselves in active, working establishments ranging from supermarkets, pubs, salons - and even public toilets.

Presenting art in unconventional spaces is nothing new. Gallerist Gavin Brown notoriously staged his first exhibition in obscure locations such as his Upper West Side apartment. The exhibitions were then displayed in office cubicles in Manhattan and in a room at the Chelsea Hotel. In 1974, the curator Harald Szeemann created a small exhibition about his grandfather, who was a hairdresser, in his apartment in Bern. And for a brief time during the 1980s, Hans Ulrich Obrist ran a gallery in his kitchen, inviting artists such as Fischli and Weiss to show their work there.

Ginny on Frederick Gallery
seen by Stephen James

exhibition
Emily Pope, Poison Pen

Ginny on Frederick Gallery
seen by Stephen James

exhibition
Eva Gold, The Last Cowboys

Adapting to change is an innate quality within art communities, and it’s often where innovation occurs. 2023 has seen the entire world adapt after COVID-19 engulfed our lives for three years. Leaving in its wake the aftermath of an economic downturn onset by the transition of Brexit and the emergence of a war in Eastern Europe. As we weathered through a temporal loop, the once 24/7 energy of the cultural industry evaporated. However, hope rose from the ashes.

Unified by a sense of urgency to reinvigorate the artistic landscape and ultimately interrupt the migration of cultural practices to the internet, a rebirth pioneered by a DIY spirit would see the championing of philanthropic initiatives with a deep sense of community unfold. Amid this defining moment, independent galleries were once again able to flourish - albeit with a twist of unconventionality.

The audacity to stray from convention is radical in itself. As independent galleries populate non-traditional spaces, an overdue revision of principles has gripped cities across the globe. Navigating the landscape unbound by formal institutional structures Recent adversity has created space for the underrepresented and in turn, this has steered the contemporary art world into fresh territory far removed from stale bureaucracy. In this exciting leap, contemporary gallerists are afforded shape-shifting ability as they re- establish the core nurture between the artist, curator and audience.

Freddie Powell, a London-based gallerist has embraced this newly developed approach. Following his graduation in 2016 from the Rhode Island School of Design, Powell's first curatorial venture came to fruition in the form of a medieval- themed motel in Massachusetts. Unknowingly paving the way for future liaisons in non-traditional locales. While in New York's LES, Freddie frequented shop-turned-gallery spaces such as Derosia, JTT and Chapter. Engineering an artistic sensibility inspired by such galleries. Powell later returned to London with the intention of creating a similar environment that embraced curatorial challenges. In 2020, Powell reached a pivotal moment in his career.

Ginny on Frederick Gallery
seen by Stephen James

exhibition
Eva Gold, The Last Cowboys

Ginny on Frederick Gallery
seen by Stephen James

exhibition Racheal Crowther, Qualified to Care

Ginny on Frederick Gallery
seen by Stephen James
exterior view

This was when the opportunity arose to repurpose a site adjacent to a disused Hackney railway arch on Frederick Terrace. In the unforeseen advent of COVID-19, the space shuttered due to mandatory restrictions. Lockdown provided an abundance of time to think, and the occasional jaunt out of the house. Stumbling across a vacant sandwich shop with signage above the doorway still intact: ‘Sunset Sandwich Bar II: Hot & Cold Food to Take Away’. This would be a defining moment for Powell. He knew then and there that this pocket-sized space would be the making of Ginny on Frederick. Kicking off his first show with Jack O'Brien in September 2021.

Offering a sense of promise and support remains the core principle of Ginny on Frederick. With less elbow room for young artists to thrive due to art council cuts and an industry largely run on nepotistic connections, the door of opportunity remains small for most. Powell has recognised this issue and has devised a programme that offers a platform for early- career artists to showcase experimental bodies of work, all while operating in a prime London location, a move simply unheard of in today's runnings of bluechip galleries. In bridging the gap for a new wave of practitioners to organically build up their trade, it’s safe to say that alongside Powell and his contemporaries - a renewed sense of hope has emerged within the underground art scene. Formulating a collective ecosystem that works on symbiosis rather than competition. Powell's mentorship provides value to artists outside of monetary promise. By co-creating environments beyond the mega-gallery trap, Ginny on Frederick ensures longevity in an ever-changing landscape.

follow gallery @ginnyonfrederick

Studio GdB - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Studio GdB
Transforming Clay Tiles into Art

written Benjamin Schiffer

Tiles are rarely the first object you notice when entering a room. Not so with the designs of Studio GdB - the Dutch design studio makes clay tiles the absolute center of attention.

The two founders and former graphic designers Gilles de Brock and Jaap Giesen challenged the status quo within the tile industry after realising that their ideas could not be translated with any of the conventional methods out there. Consequently, the duo created their very own custom digital printer allowing for a computer-controlled application of liquid glazes. The results are vibrant, unique and customizable tiles in a range of uplifting colours and extraordinary patterns.

Studio GdB
Gilles de Brock + Jaap Giesen

“There was never really a particular reason or planning behind working with tiles. It was more or less the instant idea ´Let's make tiles´. Apparently, we both thought that this was a really good idea.”

Jaap Giesen speaks with Benjamin Schiffer
LE MILE Magazine ISSUE, Nr. 35

Benjamin Schiffer
Your backgrounds are similar, right? Tell us about how you both met.
Jaap Giesen
We met in graphic design school eight years ago and since then our friendship has matured.
After that we decided to do an internship in Antwerp together, we moved there together. Gilles decided to keep on studying in Den Haag, so I went to Rotterdam. Luckily, the two cities are not too far apart from each other, so we got to meet every weekend.

When did you develop your first interest in interior design?
JG
We are both trained graphic designers and I started to grow a great interest in vintage furniture design. Gilles was more interested in technology and building machines. Looking at it now, it is the perfect collaboration and we found a middle way bringing together contemporary designs and technology.
Gilles de Brock
There was never really a particular reason or planning behind working with tiles. It was more or less the instant idea ´Let's make tiles´. Apparently, we both thought that this was a really good idea.

…and you successfully found your niche in the market. Congratulations!
JG
All by accident though! It started as a blind passion. Once the business started developing, our fascination also grew and we became very dedicated.
GdB
During the process, we developed an entrepreneurial understanding. We were always self-employed before. You are not really a business owner then. If you want to sell a product it will have to entail certain qualities and all these qualities that we needed were just there. We could pretend that it was a super calculated move and that we are very business-savvy. If it did not work out, we´d probably still do it, but be broke. We were lucky that everything worked out.

JG: There were surely many obstacles that we needed to overcome. Tiles are very heavy, so the question arose on how we would ship them around the world without breaking. Luckily, we got to solve most problems. At the beginning we did not think everything through. Youtube tutorials definitely helped us a lot in the beginning! We did not really have people that had the level of expertise that we wished for. We still do not know much about ceramic glazes, everything is more or less a trial and error procedure that takes time.

When did you realise that conventional methods would not work for your ideas?
JG
When Gilles was working as a graphic designer for a client, he wanted to print some ceramic goods.
GdB
In an arts and crafts store we saw these beautiful glazed samples. We just thought that it would be enough to use those ceramic glazes, but it turned out to be much harder than we thought. We quickly found out that what we had in mind was not realisable with the conventional methods. That's when we had to come up with our own.

I could personally scroll through your Instagram feed forever. The number of colour and pattern combinations seems infinite. Which designs are particularly difficult or impossible to realise?
GdB
We definitely have tiles that are hard to produce, but we don´t put those on Instagram, because then everybody would ask for those. We have a set infrastructure of production, therefore experimenting within that system is not the easiest and not the most efficient. Certain things just do not work in it. This does not necessarily mean that they are objectively more complicated, they just do not fit into the regular production line. It also does not mean that they won't become available at a later point. For now, we want to keep things simple and organised.


Do you guys have a personal favourite colour/pattern combo?
GdB
It's so funny, it is always the designs that we put on Instagram that get the least response. Everybody just seems to like the same patterns. It's not like we don't like them, but it's comparable to listening to the same song over and over again.
JG
I personally love the classic striped patterns with the moody colours. Everybody seems to love the rain and the marble pattern. At this point we start curating some designs a bit more carefully, combining different tiles together.

I assume there are little to no marketing budgets at this point. How do you get your product out there?
JG
We indeed have no marketing budgets. The only thing we do is post things on Instagram. Maybe we will spend money on marketing in the future. For now, what comes in through this organic method, we are fully booked. We never needed to invest in proper marketing - this is an incredible luxury. As soon as we were ready to manufacture the tiles, we put them on Instagram and people started to immediately order them - it sounds almost too good to be true.

(c) John Tods

“In an arts and crafts store we saw these beautiful glazed samples. We quickly found out that what we had in mind was not realizable with the conventional methods. That's when we had to come up with our own.”

Gilles de Brock speaks with Benjamin Schiffer
LE MILE Magazine ISSUE, Nr. 35

Which artists or artistic epochs inspire you?
JG
Sean Scully! He is the best!
GdB
He makes nice paintings with interesting colour combinations.We are inspired by some of the Dutch designers who also have innovative ways of production. It is less their outcome, but rather their principle of creating machines to do what has not been done before.

I assume your bathrooms and kitchens are also tiled with your own designs. How do you decide which designs can move into your homes?
JG
I have to ask the wife! I prefer the more classic styles with a modern interpretation and more muted colours.
GdB
To be honest, I have a hard time choosing, even though my kitchen actually needs some tiles. It is scary to put tiles in my own house, I might grow too tired of them too quickly.

In what way do you consider your work approach typically Dutch?
JG
t´s very straightforward. If we decide on doing something, we are going to make it work and we are going to make it fast.

Let's talk about interior trends in general. What trend do you think we'll see everywhere next year?
JG
I think that things can be a bit more fun, less serious. Warmer and brighter colours could be a thing.

Where would you like to see your tiles?
GdB
At the very beginning we wanted to do tiles for metro tunnels and hotel lobbies. I guess that this is still the goal. Those metro stations in NYC seriously need renovation. What we also learned is that you can actually use tiles on the exterior of buildings such as facades.
JG
Yes, having tiles on a skyscraper would be amazing! Very high on our priority list.

What advice would you give to someone who is seeking to make a career from their creativity?
JG
Commit to one thing and keep on doing it very well!

follow artist @studio.gdb
discover online www.studiogdb.nl

all images (c) Studio GdB

Andrea Falchi - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Andrea Falchi
If a Painting Could Speak

written Chidozie Obasi

Amid romantic thrills and emotive feels, Andrea Falchi grabs five with LE MILE to unpack his craft: one drip at a time.

How do you blend poignancy with the sweet, subversive frequency of a paintbrush? That’s the self-commissioned pursuit that emerging artist Andrea Falchi very much intends. “My canvases are part of an emotively-charged process, which I feed every so often based on the inner depths of my soul,” he freely admits, with no signs of peacocking braggadocio on display. “Through my paintings, I urge to convey a vision of sorts—of someone (or at times, something) that fades into the abstract, but at the same time it’s a subject that becomes familiar with quite a concealed aura.”

Truth be told, Falchi is part of the young wave of tastemakers who create art to express and deepen one’s feelings, drifting away from the faddish trends that are part and parcel of the contemporary world, commonly fed with commercially-appetible sources to satisfy market needs. But there’s more to the story. “I love experimenting with a wealth of techniques and processes, just like I love toying around with my emotions while I paint,” he says, blithely.

artist Andrea Falchi wearing
pullover RAMAEL
pants PAUL SMITH

artist Andrea Falchi wearing
total look JIL SANDER by Lucie and Luke Meier

watch

artist Andrea Falchi wearing
shirt PIERRE-LOUIS MASCIA
pants PAUL SMITH

“Most of my current paintings comprise the usage of wax and watercolours, where I create a marriage of both materials to unleash a textural sense of layering to add depth, volume and a soft roughness I’d say.” But references, can one ever have enough? “On the palette front, there’s a lightness that is juxtaposed to the duskier hues that are present in a few canvases, bringing to the fore a pool of references inspired by a further contrast between levity and profoundness.”

Cognisant of the hard work he puts in, the emotion-laced paintings are no mean feat: there’s a huge dose of soulfulness poured into the equation, teamed with a strong necessity to section his work to add emphasis to specific parts of the body.

“That’s a very good point!” He exclaims, adding that “there’s a severe willingness to punctuate certain parts of the body more than others to achieve not only a great aftermath within the layering facade, but to add a great balance of the human’s senses.” In other words? A feast for the senses: one that creates a delightful medley, a soul-charged chaos, a poised concoction that brings forth the practice of mixed media in a brand new light. The usage of layering and the artist’s expertise in colour is brilliant, and the gamut of hues that are being taken into account have been the transportive element which, as he says, “have been the catalysts for the multifaceted vision I have of human beings, abstract subjects and their respective representations which I firstly envision, figure out and then paint accordingly.”

“My canvases are part of an emotively-charged process, which I feed every so often based on the inner depths of my soul.”

Andrea Falchi

So here’s an idea for our current societal state. Stop co-opting propaganda that eulogises the arts but doesn’t physically invest in it, because young artists with big visions have the right to be acknowledged. In times of social unrest and political strife, minds like that of Falchi teach us so much about the power of creativity and its impact on one’s inner self. Because, as I’ve previously detailed, emotion counts. And such is the case for his practice: his thoughts are hardly compatible with most of his peers, which look to the dynamics of introspection as a way to reach full potential when creating art. That being said, there is a profound quality in looking at art created by young talents.

It’s hard to escape the common impression that this is a different process when rooted in practices where artists’ sensibilities are so normalised it does not demand a response – and where prejudice does not constantly invade their conceptual space. For Falchi, however, there is never a bad time to simply show heartfelt works of art, knowing that they speak for themselves. “I’m eager for my creative sensitivity to be something very personal, but with time I hope for it to gain a broader reach.” And just like Andrea, I very much hope the same.

credits
seen DAVIDE FRANDI
fashion director + stylist CHIDOZIE OBASI
video editor LUIGI BOATTO
artist ANDREA FALCHI

Eda Phanlert Sriprom - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Eda Phanlert Sriprom
EDAVERSE

written Chidozie Obasi

With a bold, soulfully powerful gaze, Thailandese artist Eda Phanlert Sriprom entrances you with an artistic practice full of haunting underpinnings and spiritual layers, which are soulful and poignant in equal measure.

Hailing from Buddhist Thailand, Eda’s craft—influenced by a journey into self-discovery and desexualization—braces a potent dynamism by bringing forth a beyond-gender, spiritual approach that transcends all manner of social constructs: It’s a complete channelling of emotion that takes you through the twists and turns of her life, providing a beautifully cathartic experience. By diving deep into her history, the artist discovered details about the intellectual aspects of a garment: Replacing traditional textiles with discarded materials, reconstructing the silhouette yet preserving their original underlying philosophy, Eda challenges social norms by fashioning clothes with a wealth of identities.

(c) John Tods

(c) Sun Thapphawut

“I believe that we all must be able to express ourselves and have the freedom to speak our minds so as to the accessibility to basic human rights.”

Eda Phanlert Sriprom speaks with Chidozie Obasi
LE MILE Magazine ISSUE, Nr. 35

Chidozie Obasi
In a world where the boundaries of art and culture are increasingly commonplace, how did you manage to find the right way to express your art?
Eda Phanlert Sriprom
I only focus and try to manage and find the truthful way to express my art, the absolute truth-which has nothing to do with the right or wrong way at all. Because things could have gone so differently in case there's bad timing or you’re in the wrong place. So I don’t necessarily think there’s a right way to achieve it. For example, in Thai culture, same-sex marriage is not considered as common sense, especially when two people are not legally allowed and validated as a married couple. Or the accessibility to become a monk which is only limited and restricted to cis male. Therefore, I believe that we all must be able to express ourselves and have the freedom to speak our minds so as to the accessibility to basic human rights.

What issues lie beneath your artistic practice?
As a Trans and a Trans artist, I have been facing the identity challenge toward the society and art landscape at large. Buddhism plays a major role in terms of how I recollect myself as it is today. I find it resourceful and it could be essential to the people in our community too. I find Buddhism being a truly universal art, and Buddha a true artist. But with cultural restrictions, all religions have been used as a tool dividing people rather than uniting them. That’s why I have been trying to articulate my Buddhism practice into my artistic one. With this approach, the audiences may feel more inclusive and eventually drawn into the essential core of what I try to share, which is how we cope with suffering. On the contrary, fashion is all about vanity and it's a powerful tool in order to get yourself validation, but it could become exhausting and you keep running in circles endlessly. Quite the opposite, the combination between fashion and Buddhism makes the balance between the two, and it’s formidable.

As a multi-dimensional artist exploring all manner of media, what’s your biggest limitation? And why?
Myself, from what I want and what I don’t, and that’s because I try not to take myself too seriously and at the same time, I try to make myself more serious or, let’s say, serious enough. At the end of the day, I decided not to swim against the tide and not fly against the wind to make sure I’m balanced - not to live too far behind but not too far ahead, in order to be present.

I’m extremely intrigued by the depth and sensitivity of your photographs: which series would you say is your most intimate, and why?
The relationship between me and the Buddha is personal and intimate. Getting myself shot in a somewhat Buddhist monk uniform for the first time, by my dearest artist and beloved brother Sun Tappawuth, was exceptional. I felt the closeness yet openness all at once. I felt the present between me and Buddha aligned on that wet-plate photograph. It’s incredibly liberating.

(c) John Tods

(c) John Tods

“Buddhism being a truly universal art, and Buddha a true artist. But with cultural restrictions, all religions have been used as a tool dividing people rather than uniting them.”

Eda Phanlert Sriprom speaks with Chidozie Obasi
LE MILE Magazine ISSUE, Nr. 35

(c) Eda Phanlert Sriprom

(c) Som Nurarak

Social commentary and spirituality seem to have a firm ground in your works, but what exactly moves you in that direction when drawing a line for a concept?
I decide to do something when I can’t feel the ground or I don’t see it clearly, or even when I can’t breathe properly. It must feel wrong in order to get it right. I lost interest when I could predict the destination. For example, as I mentioned earlier, having myself dressed up and documented as the Buddha is considered a radical and sensitive subject but I decided to stand by my truth based on my loving relationship between me and the Buddha himself. The reaction from the audience was diverse, and somehow I had been sued by someone who might have felt offended but I have to stand my ground.

Would you call yours an intersectional approach to examine the arts, and the world at large?
Aren't we all different and yet we’re so similar? Does the spirit have gender? Aren’t we all trans? Am I really convinced when someone says that he’s utterly straight? Literally, aren’t we all transitioning constantly? Having said that, as an artist, we must at least be truthful to ourselves and our artistic practices - whether it’s made to examine or desert the arts and the world at large. So to speak, the arts and the world to me are as singular as life itself.

What are your hopes for the people who view your pieces for their first time?
I hope that they feel the differences as the beauty and the similarities beyond gender and that raises questions within themselves. Be critical and be at ease with who they were, who they are, and hopefully who they would love to become, whether you might or might not like the answers or the idea but this is the essential process and that’s an essential part of our transitioning life.

follow artist @ladyboil
discover online www.edaeditions.com

Felipe Romero Beltran - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Felipe Romero Beltrán
Boundaries of Photography

written Alban E. Smajli

The captivating world of Felipe Romero Beltrán awaits, where the conventional boundaries of photography dissolve into a mesmerizing mosaic of migrant experiences.

In his latest series, 'Dialect', Romero Beltrán masterfully intertwines elements of documentary, performance, and choreography, inviting viewers on a journey through the intricacies of human existence.

Within 'Dialect', Romero Beltrán uncovers the choreography of human experience, where bodies become vessels for storytelling and movement transcends the constraints of static imagery. Each frame pulses with the rhythm of lived experiences, inviting us to contemplate the profound interplay between individual narratives and collective consciousness.

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023
courtesy Loose Joints

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023
courtesy Loose Joints

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023
courtesy Loose Joints

“In 'Dialect,' the (in)communication between documentary, performance, and choreography delivers different approaches to reality. The implementation of these practices, within a traditional medium, allows me to deal or treat both the possibilities and limitations of photography when approaching a social subject.”

Alban E. Smajli
Felipe, your work in 'Dialect' seamlessly integrates documentary, performance, and choreography. How do these elements collectively enhance the narrative of the young migrants’ experiences?
Felipe Romero Beltrán
In 'Dialect,' the (in)communication between documentary, performance, and choreography delivers different approaches to reality. The implementation of these practices, within a traditional medium, allows me to deal or treat both the possibilities and limitations of photography when approaching a social subject.

Can you give an example of how these three elements – documentary, performance, and choreography – interact in a specific piece within 'Dialect' to tell the story of the migrants?
I think the reenactments are a clear example.

In these exercises, at first, incompatible elements appear (the performance as a documentary tool) but at the same time, the guys give me a hand to bring their memories to the image's present.

In 'Dialect', you've captured the 'dead time' of bureaucratic processes. How did you conceptualize and translate this abstract, yet weighty, concept into visual art?
In my opinion, it’s not that abstract but rather palpable. Three years of waiting to be able to access to documentation. It defines the entire project. The visual approach I took was a consequence of the situation I encountered within this group of guys.

You mentioned the three-year waiting period impacting the project. Could you describe how this period of waiting influenced the artistic choices or emotional tone in 'Dialect'?
It allowed me to build an affective space around the project. Otherwise, I might have applied a specific workflow to make the project functional. In 'Dialect', the dynamic was chaotic, visceral, and, above all, open to the possibility of never materializing into a project (for the first two years, I didn't even consider it a project).

Your series not only documents but also politically interrogates. How do you navigate the fine line between artistic expression and political commentary in your photography?
Absolutely. The photographic tradition has a special relationship with this. I attempt, from a personal standpoint, to place some questions through a photographic visual device that start from a specific case in Seville. Given the slippery nature of fine lines, the project's interpretation evolves over time and varies with each viewer.

Considering our theme 'TRANCE', how do you think 'Dialect' resonates with the idea of a collective cultural consciousness, especially in the context of migration and identity?
I like to think of the term Trance from its etymology - passage - (it has the same meaning in Spanish). For 'Dialect', this term signifies a passage, imposed by an external bureaucracy, that gathers a group of guys to live together and generate a social dynamic - external, peripheral - in autonomy from the normalization of society. Something I learned from the project was precisely that autonomy of the group, which over time I also shared, of the collective in spite of the logics that are executed.

You interpret 'Trance' as a passage influenced by external bureaucracy. How does this interpretation manifest in the visual narrative or the choice of subjects in ‘Dialect'?
The choice of subject emerged as a consequence of my photographic work. At the beginning, I was interested in taking pictures about the relationship of the guys with each other, the internal dynamics in this "small society". Then I realized the implications due to their political condition, so I added another layer, where the bureaucracy appears and dictates everything, still, the project is primarily a series of a group of guys.

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023
courtesy Loose Joints

Your work often involves extensive research. Could you share how your research influenced the development and execution of 'Dialect'?
Completely. I've had an academic background, and at the time I was writing my doctoral thesis. Naturally, one cannot isolate the different fields of your work, so I embraced the way of working in a broader sense. It was also a consequence of the time I spent on the project (3 years) that made this research possible.

Photography as a medium often captures a moment in time, but 'Dialect' seems to explore the concept of time itself. How do you approach this temporal aspect in your photography?
In 'Dialect', there are two types of moments: the first, following the documentary tradition, challenges the conventional notion of an 'event'. Rarely does something happen that can be categorized as a distinct moment; instead, it stretches to the point of exhaustion. The second type of moment has to do with the staging of moments already lived and inaccessible to the traditional photographic medium, through reenactment, in a failed attempt, in collaboration with the guys. we look for moments to bring back to reality.

“It allowed me to build an affective space around the project. Otherwise, I might have applied a specific workflow to make the project functional. In 'Dialect', the dynamic was chaotic, visceral, and, above all, open to the possibility of never materializing into a project (for the first two years, I didn't even consider it a project).”

Regarding the two types of moments in 'Dialect', could you provide an example of how you captured a 'moment extended to exhaustion' and its significance in the narrative?
These are moments where nothing happens. The photographic event, very much related to the tradition, is constituted as a lapse of time where something happens. However, in 'Dialect', these moments are drawn out, extending in time due to the prolonged wait for documentation.

The use of the body as a metaphor in 'Dialect' is profound. How do you believe the physical embodiment in your work communicates the psychological and emotional experiences of the individuals you photograph?
Politically, 'Dialect' represents both body and law. In this sense, and from a photographic consciousness, the body plays a fundamental role throughout the project: distances, dispositions on the body, point of view, treatment of light.

In 'Dialect', there's a notable choreographic element. How does dance and movement contribute to the storytelling in your photography?
Each project offers new learning opportunities. As an extension of 'Dialect', I am now working on a choreographic piece where the concept of movement is more explicitly explored.

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023
courtesy Loose Joints

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023
courtesy Loose Joints

Could you describe a specific scene or photograph in 'Dialect' where dance and movement played a crucial role in conveying the story or emotion?
The photograph where Youssef, Hamza and Bilal appear. Bilal is fainting lying on Hamza's shoulders and Youssef helps to carry him. This reenactment occurred thanks to the guys' explanation of this memory of Bilal. They played it repeatedly, generating movement around the scene. Given the static image's inability to capture an extended time lapse (unlike cinema), I decided to accentuate this limitation and represent the movement as statically as possible.

Looking ahead, how do you see your photographic style and themes evolving? Are there any new projects or directions you are particularly excited about?
Yes, absolutely. Right now I'm working on some pieces in relation to movement. I'm excited to continue exploring different disciplines that deal with a common subject, as well as a commitment to the photographic image as an autonomous language.

Dialect by Felipe Romero Beltrán is published by Loose Joints
Through to www.loosejoints.biz

Brian Singer - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Brian Singer
Uncomfortable Realities

written Jonathan Bergstróm

Best known for his thought-provoking work, Brian Singer, also known as Someguy, is a multimedia artist who challenges conventional perceptions of objects and cultural symbols. Singer’s work often delves into the complexities of human connection, communication, and societal dynamics.

Some of his more highlighted work, like The 1000 Journals Project and the TWIT Spotting (Texting While In Traffic), catapulted Singer into the limelight. The 1000 Journals Project was an experiment that involved sending 1000 blank journals into the world so people could find them, contribute to them, and then pass them along. The project not only garnered widespread attention, including an exhibition at SFMOMA, but also demonstrated Singer's passion for encouraging people to engage with art firsthand

Singer’s preference for public, unexpected art installations, such as addressing homelessness in San Francisco, reaches audiences beyond traditional gallery settings in the hopes of fostering action on any number of the societal issues under examination in his work.

In his upcoming exhibition, Everything you say can and will be used against you, Singer deconstructs and reassembles recognizable and culturally-charged objects, unveiling fresh perspectives that confront, address, and reframe some of the most pressing social challenges of our era. The exhibition is on view at the Torrance Art Museum in California from January 20 through March 2, 2024.

In this interview, we chat with Singer about his creative process, the inspiration behind his latest exhibition, and the role of art in shaping societal narratives.

BRIAN SINGER
The 1000 Journals Project

“Growing up, whenever I complained about something, my mother would respond with, “No one ever said life was fair,” which fed this voice in my head that replied, “Well, it should be.” So when people get screwed over or politicians lie for their own gain, it doesn’t sit well. ”

Jonathan Bergstróm
I know that growing up with your mother who was interned during WWII is something that informs your awareness of injustice. Are there any other significant moments or events in particular that sparked your interest in politics and social justice?
Brian Singer
I don’t think there was any single moment or series of events for me. Instead, it happened more cumulatively throughout my life. Growing up, whenever I complained about something, my mother would respond with, “No one ever said life was fair,” which fed this voice in my head that replied, “Well, it should be.” So when people get screwed over or politicians lie for their own gain, it doesn’t sit well. Unfortunately, given the frequency of injustice in this country (and beyond), it’s easy to get overwhelmed and tune everything out. I have to pick and choose which topics I create work about and when because the injustices are literally never-ending.

You’re an artist, a writer and also a successful graphic designer. On a creative level, how has it been switching between those different roles?
Well, I’m not sure I’d call myself a writer (that might be an insult to actual writers). But I use language and wordplay, and I think there’s a strong visual connection between my design practice and artistic pursuits. However, there’s definitely a mental switch when designing something for a company versus making art. With the former, there’s a business objective, a brand voice to speak in, and too many cooks in the kitchen. When I’m creating art, it’s more about the purity of the concept, and at least all the cooks are inside my head. But except for writing (which I find the most difficult of the three, as I’m scrutinizing my responses here), I feel like I move seamlessly between being an artist and designer; it just boils down to what I’m trying to communicate and to whom.

You have an upcoming exhibition, titled Everything you say can and will be used against you, at the Torrance Art Museum from January 20, 2024 - March 2, 2024. Can you tell us more about the thesis behind this show?
The works in this show are really about our behavior as a country. We seem to have this idealistic notion of what America is: home of the free, amber waves of grain, and so forth. But we’re afraid of, or perhaps unwilling to, be honest about how we treat each other and the society we’ve created. So, most of the work in the show tries to shed some light on these uncomfortable realities.
For example, in the piece Progress, I use window glass collected off the street from car break-ins and place it into crystal champagne flutes. This combination is intended to highlight the continually growing gap between the haves and the have-nots. How do the rich keep getting richer, and the poor keep getting poorer? A better question is, why do we keep allowing it?

The exhibition’s title is derived from the Miranda rights and explores the ideas of privacy and the rise in mob justice. The way we tear each other down, all the time, over everything, seemed like an excellent thematic umbrella under which the other works fit.

BRIAN SINGER
Atelier

This is your fifth solo exhibition. Has the way you display your art changed over the years? How so?
It really depends on the concept and space available. While I love having work in a museum or gallery setting with big white walls and plenty of breathing room to take in the art, it can also be limiting. Partially because how often do I get a museum show? But also because the people who visit these spaces aren’t always the people I’d like to reach.

In San Francisco, the city put up a bunch of metal barricades in places to discourage the unhoused from sleeping there. This basically just moves them a block over, hiding the issue rather than solving it. In response, I purchased sleeping bags with a camouflage pattern and draped them over the barricades in locations throughout the city. On the sleeping bags, I painted the words “Home Street Home” to look like cross stitching and left a note that if you needed a sleeping bag, to take this one, it’s for you. So I’m a big fan of art that takes place in public in unexpected ways and even begs the question, is it art?

This exhibition also features some of the work from your flag series, where you disassemble flags and weave them onto different objects. What made you decide to use flags as a symbol?
Flags are complex objects in that they mean many different things to many different people. This brings a wonderful variety of perspectives and meanings into each piece, as each viewer has their own relationship with the flag. They’re also a simple graphic representation of a complicated thing: an entire country. So, the history, people, reputation, and ideals are all rolled up into this symbol.
Deconstructing these flags thread by thread and tying them back together again helps illustrate some of the complexity embedded in these objects (and our society). In my opinion, the individual threads form a more accurate representation of a country, all mixed together and barely recognizable.

“I do believe [art] is [helping], and we’d be much worse off right now if we hadn’t had artists of all kinds shaping our culture. But it’s hard to look towards the future and believe we’re on the right path.”

Reading interviews with you and seeing some of your previous projects, it seems that you enjoy bringing creativity out of others. What is it about inspiring others to express themselves that excites you?
There’s a wonderful book called Orbiting the Giant Hairball by the late, great, Gordon MacKenzie (he was a creative director at Hallmark). The book is about navigating a corporate environment as a creative, and I’m going to paraphrase this (apologies if I butcher it), but he questions what happens to us growing up that we lose our creativity. If you ask a room of kindergarteners how many of them are artists, every single child will raise their hands. If you ask the same of sixth graders, maybe half will raise their hands. Ask high school seniors, and you might get one or two. It’s like our creativity is crushed as we grow up by a fear of judgment and the need to fit in. I bring this up because I struggle with it, so if I can inspire others, maybe I could help make things just a tiny bit better. My first book, The 1000 Journals Project, was dedicated “to everyone who’s ever said ‘I’m not creative.’”

You’re based in San Francisco. How would you describe the city’s art scene at this current moment?
Earlier today, I was in Oakland for a friend’s artist talk and then went to a few galleries. Despite the rain, people were out in droves. Then, this evening, I went to Minnesota Street Project for the kickoff of Artweek, and, again, there were big crowds (honestly, too many people for my taste). So, despite all the doom and gloom articles, I think the art scene has been quite energized coming out of the pandemic. There’s a really strong community in the Bay Area, with several top-notch non-profits and institutions dedicated to supporting various groups of artists. Now, is anyone buying anything? Hard to say. The scene is vibrant, but I’m not sure if anyone is making a living at it.

SF is a city that was heavily affected by the societal changes during the pandemic, such as the switch to remote work and the long shutdowns. Has the city’s changes affected the art scene or how your work responds to such changes?
There’s definitely been an impact throughout the Bay Area, and, I’m not gonna lie, some of it is pretty disheartening. Things are particularly bad for the unhoused and those in need of addiction or mental health support. For artists, I see two things happening. First, many folks have been priced out and moved to more affordable areas. At the same time, I see renewed energy and ingenuity in responding to the changes. In some vacant storefronts, artists have partnered with the owners and activated the space for art, performance, and community events. Artists are like weeds; we find a way.

BRIAN SINGER
Deconstruction #3
wood lath, US/Mexico flags
acrylic, 24 x 51 inches

BRIAN SINGER
Installation view
Everything you say can and will be used against you
Torrance Art Museum

You've left a lasting impression with your art on more than one occasion. Both the 1000 Journal Project and the TWIT (Texting While In Traffic) gained national attention and were featured in news outlets like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Do you have a method coming up with ideas that captivates the audience's attention?
I wish I had a method (that way, I could come up with more!). I do spend a lot of time noodling ideas and concepts (I’m far from spontaneous in that way). The 1000 Journals Project had been rolling around in my head for five years before the idea finally clicked (it was based on photographs I’d taken of what people write on bathroom walls and a fascination with these public/private conversations). I’ve had plenty of ideas that have flopped (more failures than successes, for sure). So perhaps my method, if I have one, is persistence. I keep trying. Or maybe that’s just me being stubborn, I don’t know.

A lot has happened within the political and social climate over the last couple of years. The pandemic, the wars in both Ukraine and Palestine, and this year’s upcoming election in the US to name a few. What role do you hope art will play in the future, given the landscape of today?
I have high hopes, I have dreams, I want art to help make the world a better place. Then, another voice in my head reminds me that art has been working hard for decades (and longer), yet here we are. So, is it helping?

I do believe it is, and we’d be much worse off right now if we hadn’t had artists of all kinds shaping our culture. But it’s hard to look towards the future and believe we’re on the right path. I hope we can correct our course, but with people so entrenched in their views and facts being undermined by powerful agendas, I’m more than a bit worried. Plus, it’s an election year. I will keep fighting a good fight, but sometimes I feel like I brought a butter knife to the zombie apocalypse.

Tschabalala Self - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Tschabalala Self
Self Talk

written Hannah Rose Prendergast

Existing on canvas, through sculpture, functional art objects, and live performance pieces, Tschabalala Self’s work is a “testament to black beauty and power.”

Inspired by her birthplace of Harlem, Self’s eclectic painting and printmaking practice sews in well-rounded figures that feel at home. In homage to her mother, the artist’s female forms show skin rendered in repurposed fabric. Don’t take it politically; they’re just living their life grounded by a strong sense of self.

portrait TSCHABALALA SELF
seen CHRISTIAN DEFONTE

“I represent black women to allow them to take up space in the collective consciousness. My figures exist for their own desire, pleasure, and contentment, not for viewer edification.”

Hannah Rose Prendergast
How would you like your work to be perceived?
Tschabalala Self
My work is derived from my own lived experience because that is what I know best. I am always working to represent black women in a way that allows them to take up space, both physically and psychologically, within the collective consciousness. My figures are not there for the edification of the viewer. The idea of self-possession is fundamental in this concept and my practice. I just want to create a world where my figures exist for themselves — their own desire, pleasure, and contentment.

In a spiritual sense, what happens to the fabric in your paintings over time? Do you ever wash it?
The fabric in the paintings will remain, provided the paintings are kept and maintained appropriately. My studio is home to many scraps, fabrics, and textile pieces that have been sewn, cut, sewn, and cut again. Some of the fabric is painted canvas or old paintings, stripped from stretcher bars, and cannibalized to make new works. I believe each scrap is embedded with the energy of its own past experiences and origins.

What’s your process when it comes to titling shows?
Before titling my shows, I like to have at least the first work for the exhibition completed. The first work for a show generally sets the tone and helps me clarify my initial thoughts. I like to find a word or a term that feels both familiar and distant – something that can instantly spark an emotion but not a clear thought.

What does Seated (2022) mean to you after being restored by the community of Bexhill? Did you see the sculpture in a new light during this experience?
Of course, I was very disheartened when I found out about the vandalism, but I soon realized there was potential in using this violent act to restore the figure and unite the community around her. Many have derived joy from Seated, and with the help and support of the community, she was restored to her former likeness. I felt terribly for individuals in Bexhill-on-Sea for whom the vandalism shocked and frightened. Hopefully, the community engagement and their collective efforts to restore the artwork provided some much-needed healing — I believe it did. It is amazing that so many restorative hands have now touched the work.

TSCHABALALA SELF
Louis Vuitton Arty Capucines x Tschabalala Self, 2019
©Studio Lenthal

If you had to bring your painting ethos to a career in plastic surgery, how would you reconcile the two?
Plastic surgery is my career in an alternate universe. I love beauty, beautification, and balance, so if I had pursued such a career, I think I would have enjoyed it quite a lot. Also, my practice consists of a lot of cutting and rearranging — rearranging things and ideas is my great skill. I'm not sure if my painting aesthetic would translate too well into a plastic surgery career, but my ethos would integrate into one very smoothly.

How has your body image changed since you started painting these women?
My body image has changed mainly by nature of age, and in many ways, I have grown up while making my work. I started my current body of work when I was 23, and now, ten years later, I have gone through many physical, mental, and metaphysical changes.

“The vandalism of 'Seated' was disheartening, but its restoration by the community united and healed us. It’s amazing how many hands have now touched and transformed the work.”

In 2019, you collaborated with Louis Vuitton for their Artycapucines Collection, and last spring, Hermès unveiled your window display at their Madison Avenue location. What do you love about working with luxury brands?
I love the mutability of fashion houses. I appreciate how their identities can expand and contract without compromising the core culture of their brands. I admire and emulate this flexibility within my own practice.

Sounding Board (2021) was your first venture into live performance art. If you were to produce a feature film, what would that look like?
One of my dream projects would be to make a movie. What would that look like? Hopefully a blockbuster!

portrait TSCHABALALA SELF
seen CHRISTIAN DEFONTE

Installation view, Tschabalala Self, Spaces and Places
Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Maag Areal, 2023
©Courtesy the artist + Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich / Vienna
seen STEFAN ALTENBURGER, Zurich

What’s something your mother always told you?
My mother was very wise and very emotionally intelligent. She would always talk to me and tell me so many things. Many of the thoughts I believe to be my own, I am sure, are actually from my mother. More than anything, my mother convinced me from a very young age that I was strong enough and bright enough to pursue what I wanted out of life. That was one of the many gifts and strengths that my mother gave me; she told me in so many ways to believe in myself.

What’s next for you, Tschabalala?
Next for me is more travel, work, and hopefully, some time off – time to spend with family, friends, and loved ones. More shows, more art, and hopefully more beauty in my life.

Patricia Carr Morgan - Interview

.aesthetic talk
Patricia Carr Morgan
I Love You Don’t Leave Me

written Colter Ruland

After decades exploring memory and mortality, Patricia Carr Morgan looks towards the planet’s disappearing glaciers.

When Patricia Carr Morgan was 15 years old, she walked home from school one day and happened to notice a familiar print of flowered fabric hanging from the mulberry tree nearby.

This was in West Plains, MO. One can imagine what she saw, the fabric caught in the tree’s branches, fluttering nervously, the print’s flowers against the tree’s leaves forming a new species. The fabric, she realized, was from an article of her clothing. When she looked over at where the house should be, it was no longer there. A gas leak had filled the basement, ignited, and destroyed the house. The explosion had sent any contents that weren’t obliterated outright onto the yard and surrounding area, creating a new sphere of influence that would ripple throughout her life.

portrait Patricia Carr Morgan

“It destroyed everything,” Morgan recalls, “including all memorabilia.” Since then, her artistic practice throughout the decades has been about collecting and examining the remains of things that have been or are on the verge of being lost.
Morgan studied art history and eventually started creating conceptual art installations that exhibited in the United States and abroad. She went on to receive her MFA in interdisciplinary art from the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ, where she lives today.

“It isn’t surprising that death and memory are threaded throughout my work,” she says. “My father designed and made significant, monumental tombstones. Whenever I was at his business, I would play among the enormous slabs of granite waiting to be cut and carved, not understanding the depth of what they represented.”
The materials that would make up the majority of her art installations in the late 1970s, 80s, and early 90s, would be other people’s memorabilia, often found at estate sales. A number of these installations during this time are preoccupied with structures reminiscent of houses and tombs. In the video documentation of these exhibitions, Morgan describes what we are seeing and how she arrived at her concepts as if archiving customs and objects from a vaguely familiar yet disappeared world.
Tombs, hearths, and chimneys made of Plexiglas and neon, a burnt orange cube made with baby bottle nipples, a pitch black cube made from plate glass and asphalt—these kinds of structures housed objects Morgan gathered herself and invited viewers to leave behind. In Enclosure XVIII, a trapezoidal structure inspired by a visit to King Tutankhamun’s tomb, we find a gilded rib cage, rich soil, a dried lizard, and a corsage. In Dinner at Plexi’s, we find delicate china plates on which the dessicated remains of a dinner and dried flowers remain untouched. In Village One, we find pinned butterflies and nestled eggs. In Endocardial Vocabulary, we find a fax machine that continuously operates beside specimen jars filled with objects like a Bible, a children’s doll, and an animal skull. The list can go on and on, a catalog of once personal items turned into facsimiles of existence.

“It would be an honest answer to say I don’t know why I need to make art but I do know my art is a form of communication for me,” says Morgan. “It’s not a private diary of thoughts but of things I believe we all share, sometimes forget, and become unaware.” These existences, all stemming from personal though separated experiences, reach out and affect each of us. “I have always been aware that my concepts are universal,” she continues, “but it was during the process or sometime later that I realized how personal they were. Everyone has experienced a loss, has or has had a love, and is surviving.”

Nowhere would that universality of loss and survival be more apparent than in her current project, I love you don’t leave me, which applies her approach onto a massive scale as she attempts to personalize the impact of climate change.

Morgan remembers the first time she experienced the importance of glaciers on our planet at Yosemite National Park, where, millions of years ago, glaciers had carved the valleys Morgan found herself in. “My first memory of feeling at peace was in Yosemite,” she recalls. “Alone at the base of the Half Dome, I thought of the glacial power that had carved through the stone to create the spot where I sat, and my infinitesimal presence in the earth’s long journey was comforting.”
When she arrived in Antarctica, Morgan experienced a similar infinitesimal presence. “When I saw the majestic vastness of Antarctica’s white beauty,” she says, “the enticement of its many blues and greens revealed in the cracks and broken edges—I was overwhelmed. I fell in love, and it was slowly leaving.”

There’s an incredible amount of sadness attached to the way Morgan speaks about these glaciers, as if they’re long lost friends. This personal attachment is perhaps the strongest conceptual element of I love you don’t leave me and is something that has been surprisingly missing from much of the public discourse surrounding climate change and its impact on the environment. All of the calamitous data, projections, and perspectives about the state of the planet are too easily abstracted. Morgan imbues all this loss with personal meaning. We are indebted to these glacial landscapes and we should treat them as friends, she seems to suggest. Even her more straightforward photography of glaciers and icebergs, which forms the foundation of her multifaceted experimentations, are often of icebergs isolated in the water or the precarious point where the water meets the ice—while they are inherently beautiful, there is a profound sense of gorgeous loneliness that is inescapable.

Morgan later traveled to Greenland to take more photographs, returning to her studio in Tucson to search for “a way to express my concerns.” There, in the desert where water takes on new meaning, she has been experimenting with various iterations of her archive of images that manifest as multiple series in I love you don’t leave me. “I experimented a lot,” she says. “It was logical to think about how the polar regions were being destroyed, so I did a series expressing the degradation of that environment using coal and carbon. I continued to experiment, saving the bits and pieces that I liked. Eventually, I found the materials that became Blue Tears and expressed the beauty and majesty of the glaciers.”

Blue Tears is a conceptual art installation that first exhibited at the Tucson Museum of Art and is currently being planned to tour the country. The installation consists of sheets of silk organza, each around 17 feet long, onto which Morgan has printed her images of glaciers, icebergs, and wildlife. They hang suspended, their cold blue translucence conveying the fragility of the landscapes they represent. As part of the exhibition at the museum, Morgan released these layers over time, letting them gently, silently fall to the floor to create an “undulating ocean of silken glaciers.” The exhibition reportedly brought some to tears.

Patricia Carr Morgan
Altered States Greenland
carbon-based pigments and coal particles
from Altered States

One might think of her destroyed childhood house in a moment such as this and the “generations of mementos” strewn across the yard. These disappearing glaciers contain their own memories, they form their own record of the world throughout time in their ice cores, and as they melt such experiences are likewise lost forever. The possibility of life, and its implication of total collapse, is perhaps Morgan’s foremost concern in her entire body of work, now expanded on a grand scale in I love you don’t leave me.

Perhaps Morgan is expanding her universe, from the personal reconstructions of her earlier installations to the vastness of the polar regions. Or maybe she is simply asking us to consider things that seem larger than us as personal, too. Grandeur can be personal. We all pick from its fruit. Morgan is asking us to consider whether the tree can continue to bear it, bear us, and our indifference.

Some of her experimental series make the result of that indifference more overt, whether it is inflicting pristine images of white and blue glaciers with carbon-based pigments and coal particles or repeatedly using digital and analog processes to make landscapes fade, discolor, and become ghostly abstractions of their former selves.

“Trying to imagine it was fruitless. Was the future of Antarctica a seascape? What will happen to the beauty of the region? I couldn’t grasp it, couldn’t predict it, so I sought to express its certain change, as well as our uncertainty. I introduced chance. Relinquishing control of my process and printing resulted in varying degrees of abstraction, conveying the melting, the changes, and the unknown.”

Morgan plans on returning to Greenland in August of 2022, and to Antarctica in February of 2023. “I’m looking forward to going back,” she says, “not only to take more photographs but to see the glaciers again. I expect it will be somewhat like going to a beach where we know the tides and currents have changed things, but it doesn’t look that different. Unless a glacier has receded beyond its anchoring point at the edge of the land, it will probably look similar to when I was there last.”

While Morgan’s body of work can be understood as an elegy for what has been lost, it is also about reconstructing that loss, of reframing our appreciation of beauty even when it is disappearing. Even if our existence should disappear altogether, one hopes someone as astute as Morgan will one day in the future collect the remains of our own experiences and likewise treat them with care.

Patricia Carr Morgan
Greenland, 2015-2016
from Ice Greenland, Antarctica