TOWARDS TERRA

“It’s not only music. It’s a world. It's a search for ambitious identities. It’s a creature community. It's an eco system. A queer mythology. It's more than a dream.” From the sheer and ruffled creations of Livia Rita, avant-pop singer, musician and performer, designer and self-proclaimed Alpine witch, emerge the cutest of specimens fostering social change and otherkin utopia.

Linda Morell’s recent exhibition dives into the jellified oceans of a future Earth, a place so alienated from mankind that it itself is uncertain which life forms it will favor. Inspired by Paradise Lost, mythologies and collapse of civilization, her unique installations explore a non-linear temporality through materials and interplay.

“I will continue to question our existence and try to be appeased in a crazy and violent world.” Armenian-Iberian accessory designer Mara Tchouhabjian is the author of intricate and ornate headpieces, using fabric, beads, embroidery, wire or natural woven materials. Enjoy a down-to-the-point interview with the artist below.

Zexian Liu's playful, vibrant and mix-and-match outfits and shoewear rife with prints, patterns and textures invite both the wearer and the viewer to enter her world of contrasts, randomness and celebration of the simple beauty of just looking around us every day. We are delighted to bring you an interview with the fashion designer below.

“We always wanted a place to hide. To inhabit islands with their own rules, where we can die and be reborn.” Today’s feature by Bára Čápová explores the parallels between Deleuze’s utopia of desert islands and contemporary liminal space aesthetics. Her meditation is accompanied by illustrations by Andrea Sklepek Šafaříková, underscoring the mysterious atmosphere of once-crowded, now-empty environments.

Despite all our modern sensibilities, our minds still play tricks on us when it comes to the darkness. Shapes begin to swirl and half-materialize, uncanny threats breathe down our necks from the murkiness – and we feel silly after we flip the light switch. But what if the entities are really there? This editorial was sparked by our fascination with Lukáš Spilka's Full Moon collection and was brought to life via the talent of photography duo Shotby.us.

Léa Porré’s fascination with transcending the same old ways of interpreting history finds expression in her 3D works and installations. Today, the London-based Belgian artist presents two of her recent projects, Arcana Arcorum and The Beginning of All Moist Things which, in her style, “experiment with 3D world-building as a tool to heal from our past, and future-forecast.”

There are only two scenarios for the future. In his philosophical essay, Becoming a Nuclear Ghost (Notes on the Non-Existence of Utopia), on the basis of postapocalyptic pop-culture visions, Martin Charvát constructs the outermost possibilities of social existence. Illustrated by Dominik Turan.

Mnemosyne Unit-01 is a hyper-creature that contains the DNA of all known eukaryotic species as they navigate a deserted Earth. The premise of Dimitris Gkikas’ walking simulator, an emerging gaming genre, takes the player to an eclectic universe which, despite its grim post-apocalypticism, maintains a light spirit and insightful view of technology.

“I find wastefulness nauseating.” Sophia Rotas, the mastermind behind Daemon Concept, a brand that seeks to “redefine severe luxury through fine jewellery”, afforded SWARM Mag a piece of her mind on her journey from maximalism to ascetic simplicity, Hungarian ballroom culture, not fearing perceived perfection or how AI-generated art can never reflect the “Zeitgeist”. Enjoy the captivating interview below.

Visions of escaping civilization and technology for a simple life of manual labor have crept into many an artists’ dreams since the industrial revolution, but Alexandr Martsynyuk’s recent work explores the inevitable inescapability of automation even in a rustical, barebones existence. Join him today on a routine trip to the tomato allotments in his speculative spin on the post-apocalypse.

Irina Dzhus' eponymous label, DZHUS, gained global notoriety thanks to transformable and mostly monochrome maximalist-minimalist creations that sometimes cocoon their wearer. In the interview, she reveals how her garments are created to be deeply versatile by design, the challenges of producing and delivering pieces from the war-stricken Ukraine, the importance of cruelty-free materials, and how fashion should stay socially responsive in the future.

The long-running creative collaboration between Ula Lucińska and Michał Knychaus has recently led the Polish duo to explore the non-linearity of time, speculative approaches and the notion of catastrophe through their multimedia works. In their own words, “even if the environments we render are dark and repulsive they always contain elements of restoration and new life”, hanging in a balance between the surgical and organic. Today, you get to join them in their realms accompanied by an insightful interview.

The vibrant and mythos-like works of Spanish fashion and jewellery designer Cristina Milhero are sure to capture one's attention mercilessly, like a gluetrap. Read along to get familiar with her thoughts on the broader ethical codex designers should put into practice, keeping her eyes off the catwalks, corrupted minds and attention span, and more.

As part of her Friendship series, the creatures and beings in Denisa Müllerová’s works float in an ethereal space beyond desires and pain. Despite their alien optics, they all seek very familiar things: “They lightly touch each other. They contemplate. They convey the most necessary and important message – I'm here with you.” Join their presence in today’s feature accompanied by an explication of their universe and its creator.

Since 2016, London-based Gregory Kara has been crafting costumes and accessories for the likes of Grimes, Lady Gaga, P!nk, Nicky Minaj and many more. His stylistic focus could be best described as war-nymph aesthetic, and Kara's work predominantly includes facial accessories, oscillating between masks and headdresses, and also bodices or armour-like full-body pieces (and an occasional custom eyepatch for Madonna). Let us treat you to an exclusive interview with the artist below, including a truly uplifting parting message.

The Berlin-based Tabitha Swanson has tried and mastered her hand in all things design, spanning the creation of 3D animations, user experiences, and fashion. Join us today in exploring her insider knowledge from the industry and creative process, accompanied by her mesmerizing VR animations.

Originally from Slovakia, Mata Durikovic (MADbyMAD) is a fashion designer currently working with Chanel in Paris, as she enchanted the brand (and the rest of the world) with her use of self-produced edible bioplastic “fabrics”. In an interview with SWARM Mag, she draws aside the curtain on the playful flowery language of her garments, her childhood imaginative extraterrestrial inspiration, how the leftover starch water from boiling potatoes her late grandmother used to water plants with inspired her to invent her signature “Bioplastic Crystal Leather” and more.

“Cosmic Planta is the story of a planet in a completely different galaxy that has not yet been discovered. Only our green friends live on the planet; plants and trees. After a special asteroid from outer space lands on this green planet, everything changes...” In today’s feature, Princess Hıdır invites us to her vivid universe where Ozoyo’s ephemeral beats pulse with the sentient flora’s breaths.

“I build with the knowledge that art can be used as a protopian influence to help the advancement of technology and design.” Amanda R. Teske, or Tesxe for the art world, is a digital designer with passion for product design, AI, wellness biohacking, biomimetic research and tech optimism towards the future. She might also have created a new aesthetic genre of elven mecha-futurism. A truly captivating in-depth and interview with the artist continues below.