There are at least three major theories on how gold became lodged in our Earth’s crust. Two of them speak of extraterrestrial origins. The pursuit of this malleable, ductile and noble metal has significantly shaped the fate of many past civilisations and cultures—and its ownership remains a showcase of status. However, ‘all that glitters is not gold’ feels more urgent these days. Wealth demands redefinition. Following our mammalian instincts, the golden spring sunlight feels like it’s finally shimmering with hope after an endless, geopolitically exhausting winter.
Our new theme explores the timeless fascination with wealth, beauty, desire, and the deceptive gleam of gold and silver, drawing from folklore and Celtic, Norse and Slavic mythology. Inspired by fairy tales where vanity leads to temptation, and riches come at a cost, this theme delves into the duality of allure and downfall. From cursed treasures and bewitched garments to pagan rituals where gold was both a sacred offering and a symbol of corruption, GILDED LURE examines the hypnotic pull of luxury and the illusions it creates.
Across history, opulence has served as both a promise and a trap—whether in the silver tongues of deceivers, the shimmering mirages of unattainable wealth or Midas’ golden touch. Realistically, Midas’ fate was nauseating, as we all know. With a combination of insatiable greed and clumsiness, he turned everything and everyone dear to him into a piece of solid gold. Someone should’ve told him that metaphorical gold and gemstones are fine too. But if people were rational at all times, we wouldn’t have ancient cautionary tales.
In contemporary art, fashion, and design, metallic textures continue to embody power, seduction, and mysticism. We invite artists to reinterpret the aesthetics of flaunting excess and temptation through the ritualistic power of adornment and the fragile boundary between enchantment and deception. Even in an era where modernity has become synonymous with simplicity—clean lines, minimalism, the erasure of surplus—there’s space for challenge. What if the new isn’t just about stripping away but about layering, embellishing, and reclaiming the richness of the past?
Let us lure you in.
Forever-illumination-seeking and yours,
SWARM Mag
FOR YOUR READING, VIEWING AND LISTENING PLEASURE
Books:
John Berger – Ways of Seeing
Jean Baudrillard – The System of Objects
Hans Belting – An Anthropology of Images
Olga Viso – Ana Mendieta: Earth Body
Michael Peppiatt – Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma
Olafur Eliasson – Experience
Hal Foster, Rosalind Krauss, Yve-Alain Bois, Benjamin H. D. Buchloh – Art Since 1900
Dana Thomas – Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster
Caroline Evans – Fashion at the Edge
Pamela Golbin – Dries Van Noten
Susan Sontag – On Photography
David Campany – A Handful of Dust
Geoffrey Batchen – The Gold Standard and the Logic of Naturalism (2021)
Deyan Sudjic – The Language of Things (2009)
Dana Thomas – Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes (2019)
Movies:
Legend (1985), a film by Ridley Scott
The Neon Demon (2016, dir. Nicolas Winding Refn)
Fellini’s Casanova (1976, r. Federico Fellini)
Barry Lyndon (1975, r. Stanley Kubrick)
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989, r. Peter Greenaway)
The Great Beauty” (2013, dir. Paolo Sorrentino)
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006, r. Guillermo del Toro)
The Green Knight (2021, r. David Lowery)
Nocturnal Animals (2016, dir. Tom Ford)
Metropolis (1927, r. Fritz Lang)
The Company of Wolves (1984, r. Neil Jordan)
The Devil Wears Prada (2006, r. David Frankel)
Lamb (2021, dir. Valdimar Jóhannsson)
The Great Gatsby (2013, dir. Baz Luhrmann)
Triangle of Sadness (2022, dir. Ruben Östlund)
McQueen (2018, dir. Ian Bonhôte & Peter Ettedgui)
