Archive – SWARM MAG – Page 13

In reframing the industry’s superficial narratives of representation, Paris-based fashion designer Mehmet creates politically charged garments to reframe the contemporary image of migrant peoples. “We all claim for diversity, equality, and integrity, but just few people question the roots, and I wanted to be relevant in a time of ultra-passiveness.” Dive into her muses, inspirations and creative process in today’s article.

The Netherlands-based Ukrainian photographer Alex Blanco is a seasoned visual storyteller. Her 2016-2019 project is a utopian rendering of her parents in their home city of Odessa, “where the real overlaps with the surreal and everyone was born to shine”. Holding true to this notion, she created intimate and atmospheric shots that helped her reconnect with her family.

“[In Georgia,] there are as many contributing factors as hindering circumstances.” In an exclusive interview, fashion designer Aleksandre Akhalkatsishvili uncovers how Georgian sartorial customs influence his clean-cut, sombre arrangements and silhouettes, how does he employ the deconstructivist practice in his creative process, and talks about the feral femme energy he is drawn to.

1989. China. Czechoslovakia. One meeting place – Moscow. Linda Zhengová’s photo series captures the artist’s complicated family history. Be it living under different communist regimes thousands of kilometers apart, the inherent cultural differences, or even their eventual separation, the KULISHEK series create an intimate narrative of a family forged and fragmented in a globalizing world.

Jean-Baptiste Janisset opens our Family Business theme with idiosyncratic sculptural compositions of the divine. The Holy Mothers in mother-of-pearl are dissolved and reimagined into new affects as “there is no more total form, identifiable or assignable, only this infinite swarming of symbols,” as Ingrid Luquet-Gad elucidates in the accompanying texts.

This one goes “right in the feels”. Pardon us but we couldn't help but stick our noses into your FAMILY BUSINESS. And now the consequence of our actions are haunting us all. The article is accompanied by a whimsically plushy animation by illustrator and animator Charlie Spies.

“Love is a biological weapon that bodies make to survive extinction and evolution.” 3D creator Lolita 111000, the first Spanish artist to be represented by a digital avatar, breathes life into trans-species creatures that reflect her deep adoration of non-human animals. Her work is inspired by posthumanism, biology, and friends. Enjoy an interview drenched in 'chaotic good' energy.

In the atmospheres of Jimmy Beauquesne’s artworks, there reside fantasies of the natural world, celebrities, and entities beyond language or reason. Let the French artist’s words and images in today’s interview mesmerize you into a dreamy sense of longing.

Oskar Zięta introduces the glossy, otherworldly apparitions made of polished steel coagulating to life in the family-run Zieta studio. These mirrors/objects with bionic silhouettes are made to resemble glimpses of the natural world in which they are often put on display, nearly merging.

Daniel Drabek’s monsters are not for the sterile gallery wall: the Italian-Swiss visual artist’s creations find their home on posters, album covers, clothing and stickers, among other surfaces. Today, Daniel provides a glimpse into the role of spontaneously projecting memory into his art and reveling in the distortions that emerge.

Rahel Süßkind, also creating under the alias Chrissy Fahrenbruch, mirrors in her singular illustrations “the world as she sees it”. These cutesy, vivid visions include bipedal animal hybrids such as Snooh, a friendly green character kneaded into existence from no other substance than… phlegm. Enjoy a slightly oozy interview with the author.

“The current ideal is to conform and control, be part of a system or dominating force... you’re only relevant if you look a certain way.” In unbraiding the ropes learned through socialization, London-based multidisciplinary artist Rhiannon Davies’ collections weave inspirations spanning Celtic mythology, Fleetwood Mac and equestrian fashion to explore the contemporary notion of perfection.

How strange is it that everyone knows a horse girl? From the more cutesy depths of human kinks and obsessions, House SWARM is bringing you the first original editorial of 2022, fit right for a confusing, animal-lover and enigmatic summer.

“Many microbiologists argue that we should start thinking of humans as microbial ecosystems or multispecies collectives.” Charlie Spies’ Gutopia animations playfully and intimately explore the dividual on the backdrop of a late capitalist society still riddled with archaic stereotypes and rigid knowledge-creation processes.

What do a flock of starlings and generative design have in common? Why does chaotic movement fascinate and unsettle us at the same time? And how can we tell if we're watching a real video or a screensaver? In her article, Bára Čápová reflects on the similarities between the natural movement of animal flocks and herds and algorithmic digital images. Illustrations for the article were created by Jakub Bachorík.

In exploring what lies between individuals’ boundaries, Zu Kalinowska creates assemblages whose unlikely material combinations represent the merging of different bodies and their greater picture. Delve into the images and curatorial texts from her 2022 exhibition “Mortal Shell” and see for yourself just how much you allow otherness change your being.

If you glean inspiration by René Magritte from the wearable art by fashion designer and artist Venera Kazarova, you are not wrong. Whimsical videos and photoshoots feature peculiar humanoids morphing with animals and flowers made of fabric and paper – the artist's favourite material – about the love for which, and more, she talks in the interview below.

Desires incompatible with a conservative society take on a unique form in Dae uk Kim’s artworks, expressing his yearning for beautification through the creation of “mutant” furniture and utile objects. Dive into today’s interview to explore the fascinating facets of his creative process!

Are human beings not insular individuals but teeming interspecies colonies of assorted tissues and bacteria? Czech intermedia artist Nela Pietrová links visual art with research practice to find a deeper understanding of the queer nature of metamorphosing (co-)dependent substances and, ultimately, herself.

Having abandoned his expressionist roots, Melcher Oosterman’s work has taken on a new level of authentic playfulness. Fascinated by the world of animals, the Dutch artist’s imaginary worlds reflect the wordless kinship between species, and more recently also his new interest in ceramics.