FEELING BLUE

Katharina Schmitt transforms Kafka’s In the Penal Colony into a dreamlike stage experience, with the execution machine becoming its own character. On the backdrop of minimal dialogue and an experimental singer as the machine's voice, the production explores how humans relate to the sight of suffering. Read today’s interview to find out why you don’t want to miss Studio Hrdinů's latest inscenation and how your own act of watching it will be questioned.

Polish fashion designer Monika Łuczak’s creations immediately draw the eye with their intricate corsetry and lacing, assymetrical cuts, and figure-hugging silhouettes. But the lore behind these fetish-reminiscent designs is steeped in feminist social commentary and reproductive injustice resistance. In the in-depth interview, Monika shared her intrigue with the narrative patterns of “female transgression and reprimand” abundant both in mythologies and religions, The Handmaid’s Tale, reaching creative freedom, and more.

Interviewing Carla Boré, a fashion designer based in France, was a pleasure for both the mind and the soul. Her textured, layered, ruffled pieces are reminiscent of objects one might find growing or shed on the fairy forest floor. They are, actually, as the designer notes, supposed to evoke moulting, thus “rebirth and self-reinvention”, embodying the fluidity and resilient adaptability of femininity. Plunge into her world below.

Paweł Olszczyński’s latest painting series border between a reframing of surrealist ambitions and a radical commentary on form itself. Read today’s interview to learn about Phantoms, and how Pawel invoked them into being through a personal emotional alchemy, intermedia techniques, and early-20th-century influences.

In Alexandra Kamova’s works, dreams become a cipher. Through surreal landscapes, she creates places where beauty and sadness coexist, like asphalt cracked by blooming flowers. Read today’s interview to learn about Alexandra’s creative trajectory, poignant views on topics ranging from biology, philosophy and music, and glean the keys to reading her art.

“The brand is my fragile soul whereas I am a forever servant of its social mission.” We’re delighted to see Irina Dzhus make a reappearance in Swarm Mag with yet another bold, layered, almost monochromatic, textured, versatile and theatrical collection, the SS25 line. We caught up with the Ukrainian designer to talk personal developments of being a war refugee, escapist urges, self-alienation from the fashion world, crafting icons, and more.

François Thevenet moves between media as smoothly as he combines colors in his vivid paintings. Having recently discovered the joy of oil painting, his new oeuvre shows a new break in his artistic career. Read today’s interview with the acclaimed artist to learn about his influences, why he is inspired by martial arts, and how the environment informs his creativity.

Miriam Pružincová’s work oscillates between film and photography. In the end, however, it doesn’t matter whether we are looking at a moving or a still image. The stories that her images tell mostly don't happen in front of our eyes anyway. The alien stories we watch need to be experienced and lived beyond their timeline. Why? Because they are stories about our very selves. I jump back and forth between her photos. I scroll through them for a while, then get stuck on a few. I look at the films, then at the photos again, building a story. One minute they make me sad and the next they make me happy. Then I feel both at the same time.

Working with every material and color, the Danish duo Smarch World investigates identities, tendencies and stories through their installations, performances, and hand-made wearable artworks. Read about their latest collection DIN DIN inspired by workwear, the ultimate uniform designed to last a lifetime, and how it came into being.

“The dichotomy of PAF is that you want to tell the world about it while jealously wishing to keep it to yourself, lest it becomes touristy.” The umbrella theme of the 2024 PAF, Festival of Film Animation and Contemporary Art, was “Diaries”. Since autofiction seems to be all the rage for the past five years or so, I’ve decided to toy with the format of an “autofictitious diary” to write my report from the 4-day event. All actual act reviews are genuine but some of the accompanying commentary might be not. Enjoy.

“I pull the symbolic scalp of their face. Then after modifications, I put it on”. Zbiok Czajkowski captures the shells and masks of people who were by chance caught in old photographs, and in his recent series “Scalps” he perfects his method with his mastery of airbrush. Read today’s interview to find out what lies beneath the surface.

Patrycia Pietka’s oil paintings dive into the intersections of spirituality, folklore, and female energy. Beyond her masterful form, the Polish artist, inspired by magical-realist and surrealist cinema, uses her works to capture the fleeting beauty of loved ones who passed away. Read today’s interview to learn about her process, inspirations and plans for the future.

Amy Dury turns vintage photography into contemporary art pieces. Taking inspiration from the troves of human archives both analogue and digital, the acclaimed British painter employs her signature bold contrasts to create works that balance a calming nostalgia with unsettling undertones. Read today’s extended interview to learn about Amy’s creative process, influences, and views on the art world!

Finnish designer Sofia llmonen crafts her garments with freedom in mind. Freedom to express, to play, freedom to dismantle and reassemble again. Her generous silhouettes with strong mediaeval and renaissance undertones feature elaborate fastening and lacing methods that allow for instant modification of the garment in the spirit of modularity sustainability. Explore her work brimming with possibilities.

Each element of the newest collection of Eva Immerzeel, from material and shape to the texture of the loosely knitted overlays, was carefully and consciously selected to convey “the conflicting feelings one can have when struggling with making connections” and hopeful glints of hope in reaching out. More in the interview below.

“When working on matter, you work on yourself.” Influenced by alchemy, religion, and psychology, Eliott Gamer’s animations and tattoo art are his favorite tool for introspection. Enter his world and let his work with the human body illuminate your journey to the center of the labyrinth inside.

Marlena Krawczyk’s REMEMBER collection stems from a physical place that, as she claims, has “taken root in her psyche”. The Polish fashion designer uses materials and porcelain-doll-like silhouettes that are meant to evoke the spirit of childhood spent in her grandparents’ home – a bit of a sensory journey to the nostalgia-tinged past. Plunge deeper in the interview below.

Sergiu Ciochină’s latest series of paintings explores human vulnerability and anxiety in his signature surrealist expressionism. The Moldovan artist’s realms come into being through his strokes of gentleness and empathy, and we invite you today to enter them and let your worries fade away.

István Máriás’ artworks feature playful juxtapositions interspersed with uncanny hues and unsettling elements. Drawing on mysticism and romanticism, the Romanian artist utilizes diverse mediums and surfaces, including ceramic tiles. Read today’s feature to learn about István’s creative history and process, and why he prefers analog expression over the digital.

Alejandro Spano created the Clash universe as a place of curious exploration – be it of limitations, identities, or humanity. Over time, he has come to invite others to co-create this world, and that is where Itar Pas was born, and the universe hasn’t stopped expanding since. Delve into Alejandro’s world today to find out what Itar Pas is after, and how virtual worlds help express the previously unimaginable.