Tomáš Kovařík

"Has popular music been completely consumed by melancholy, anxiety and hopelessness?" Karel Veselý and Miloš Hroch ask in their 2020 book named after a song by The Cure, and today we delve into their compelling narrative.

When famous animals quote Baudrillard, Borges and McLuhan to discuss their cultural representations, you know it is time to listen. This excerpt from Georgie Brinkman’s eclectic treatise showcases the author’s playful search for new ways of telling stories that involve our kin.

The thick hair hiding the personalities in Erik Sandberg’s paintings may not be opaque at all, the growth speaking and representing volumes of its own. This exploration of our oft-derided animal nature reminds us that even in a sterilized and epilated world, body hair and fur have an allure of their own.

The eclectic 3D compositions of Laurent Allard breathe movement into a visual genre traditionally depicting the static. By employing digital tools, the artist creates a sense of fluidity in the materials, bordering on the grotesque and naive.

Anna Ruth’s love for nature shows in her every brushstroke. The Prague-based artist and musician conjures sensual and yet mysterious images, which never lose their touch with playfulness and a gentle joy. In today’s interview, you will learn about her relationship to the living world and its representation in her art.

Augmented reality has taken the pandemic world by storm. Sarah Mayer is one of the designers spearheading the trend, bringing traditional costume design into the digital realm. In this exclusive interview, the Creative Director for Popul-AR not only divulges her tools and inspirations, but also her perspective on the future of mankind and technology.

Conveying the uncomfortable state of a soul inhabiting flesh that does not reflect its infinite nature is a delicate process. Skyler Pham has taken to expressing this existential friction through their 3D figures which, with their abstract shapes and shells, have overcome this terminality, becoming pre-images for a post-contemporary world.

The phantastechnological realms and brilliant creatures you see are the neon tears of Axeknight’s 3D muses. Inspired by music and video games, the entities conjured predicate a distant world removed far from human comprehension. Perhaps your vertigo may be allayed by this exclusive SWARM MAG interview with their creator.

Dig with us into the crates of electro, an often-forgotten genre which spawned multitudes of music genres in the 80s and is now coming back in force. Accompanied by an interview with the author of the text’s mesmerizing images, Sofia Palm, SWARM MAG invites you to an audiovisual journey with plenty forward-looking tunes coming to a club near you soon.

“It's almost 2022 and I think many things don't matter anymore.” Keiga’s design work is all about balance: between digital and old-school tailoring, or creative work and manual labor. In this SWARM MAG interview, the Chinese, London-based designer talks about Surplus Value Center, his recent project offering social commentary on the conditions of Chinese factory workers.

In her studies in femininity, Hélène Jeudy creates captivating digital artworks and films with a refreshing spin on the timeless notion of the female, bringing the issue into the context of evolution and technology. Immerse yourself in the young aspiring artist’s collaborative oeuvre that will force you to reconsider your outdated stereotypes.

The Hamburg-based duo Animationseries2000 reflect the poignant issues of our time with dark humor and retrofuturist-minimalist animations and installations. Their recent project HUMAN SIMULATOR is their meta take on consumerism; the “game” works within a system of flattened, binary paradigms, which, through their simplicity, serve all the more to underscore certain realities common to us all.

Each of Davor Gromilovic’s paintings is a world of its own: they all have their lore, characters and narrative. The joy of decoding each of these masterful, otherworldly universes lies in what you project on them, and in this SWARM MAG interview you can peek into the head of their mastermind.

Jellyburger’s saturated neons may remind one of vaporwave and internet aesthetics, but there is more at play here than surfaces: her works oscillate between stillness and motion, delving into the perplexities of the contemporary while keeping in mind the greater pictures at play.

Joey Holder’s speculative installations force one to question every foundation taken for granted. Despite her interest in seemingly disparate subject matters, her works share a preoccupation with depth, be it the sea, the internet or the human psyché. Take a dive with us into the acclaimed artist’s perspective.