A hazy vision of a red, hand-held artefact appeared before us in the early stages of putting this issue together. Whether or not this was a natural impulse for survival in the antiquated realm we inhabit as magazine makers in the attention economy, the object you are holding is an embodiment of the turmoil of our time. It performs as a symbol of our collective state of emergency, from the moment it’s first seen in someone's hands to the moment it serves its afterlife on a coffee table.
If a magazine reflects the passions and concerns of the people that put it together, then it is no surprise that the object you now hold in your hand has the glaringly provocative yet pessimistic name that it does.
It should also not shock you that it is designed on a conceptual gradient that ranges from elegant and conventional to chaotic ano irrational. It bears no disciplinary allegiances, and accommodates registers both high and low. The essay vs the tweet. The academia vs the meme.
CONTRIBUTORS
LINA GHOTMEH + PEDRO GADANHO + FUENSANTA NIETO + DAVID MILLER + IBRAHIM AL MARASHI + PEDRO PITARCH + MICHAEL LEUBE + ADRIAAN GEUZE + CEM KAYATEKIN + NORA WENDL + EX FIGURA + JOSE VELA + ESTUDIO OTRO + SAM HARDING.
MANGA NGCOBO + TRISTAN SARTORIUS + MARIA ROIG + YUSUF SÜHAN BOZKURT + MARTIN JITENSKI + ARIANNA CHOW SZE AI + FRANCESCA NORRINGTON + CHARLIE LOAIZA + ARSENIY VALTER.
Every era is faced with watershed moments that signify the end. These near apocalyptic moments, such as the nuclear age, have come and passed but still leave trails of their anxiety in our lives. This indicates, if anything, that these moments bring about revelation and rebirth. However, there is a sense to which the existential knife-edge we find ourselves on now is unprecedented. Amidst the suffocating ambience of the climate emergency and the fragility of democracy, the mood in the contemporary public square is one of doom, and fatalism. We’re on the cusp of a variety of frontiers that are ushering in the final curtain.
IS THIS AN END TO ALL ENDS?
THE END+
The standard edition, what we refer to as “the panic button” was designed with the turmoil and attention span of our times in mind. The softcover and spine feature debossed elements and the three remaining sides of the magazine is painted with the same red.
€ 17.50*
*Shipping costs not included. Pick up available from Madrid and Segovia.
The special edition comes in its own vacuum sealed bag for maximum protection against catastrophic climate conditions. The package includes one of four different posters, a hand-written note from the director, an Issue 5 signed by the creators + more themed items.
THE SPECIAL EDITION
€ 30.00*
*Shipping costs not included. Pick up available from Madrid and Segovia.