Feburary 2019
Our February round-up of new issues includes magazine about art, feminism, fishing and food history, and from Taiwan, Edinburgh, Los Angeles and Norwich.
Frieze #201
It’s exactly two years since the redesign of contemporary art magazine Frieze, by David Lane, but never has an issue stood out so much. The manga-like figure on the front (Material World Knight by Lu Yang, 2018) is complemented by the silver-embossed title, off-kilter for the first time, and bordered with thick lines of blue and yellow — an excitingly on-concept alteration for an issue taking games seriously as an art form.
frieze.com
She is Fierce #4
The 700-strong membership of its ‘Noisy Girls Club’ are the foundations for this collaboratively-made magazine that champions female makers and creatives. Issue four, themed rebels, really pushes the agenda, and the punchy cover and characteristic illustrations throughout mark this indie hitting its stride.
sheisfiercemag.co.uk
Fly Culture #2
Fishing magazines have been a staple hobbyist category for decades; this is the first we’re aware of that celebrates the activity with an indie sensibility. With typically beautiful photography and experiential writing on matt stock, it could easily be a niche too far but is actually quite compelling.
flyculturemag.com
Akin #1
The result of a succesfull Kickstarter campiagn by ex-magCulture design assistant Alice Daisy Pomfret. Each issue will be inspired by an individual person, in this case the architect Zaha Hadid. As well as an interview one of the late architect’s collaborators, I enjoyed Sarah Wickings’ collages based on Hadid’s buildings. We also hear from lesser but just as inspirational illustrators and creatives; also of note – the spiral binding.
kickstarter.com/projects/293522083
Eaten #4
A food magazine like no other, which takes you on a trip down the annals of gastronomic history — this time looking at that classic combination, sweet & sour. Discover old recipes and explore centuries of cooking, eating and the people involved in a series of essays and interviews by historians and cooks.
eatenmagazine.com
Gaffer #1
This heavyweight new launch celebrates the links between football, fashion and music, focusing on today’s generation of Instagram-savvy musicians and footballers who are confident enough in themselves to open up in public rather then hide behind PRs. A magazine of our times.
gaffer.online
White Fungus #16
This art magazine hails from Taiwan, and each cover image is derived from a scan of the commercially-produced White Fungus beverage from Taichung City. It has a very calm, spacious design, however the artists featured are anything but calm: the main interview in this issue is with legendary performance artist Carolee Schneemann.
whitefungus.com
Void #1
Published by the team behind London student magazine 1 Granary, Void is a box of fold-out goodies. Each of the six sections have been created by a team of students in response to the work of a young fashion designer. It’s a refreshing departure from the usual run photography portfolio fashion magazine, the format encouraging the use of different papers and effects. A great experiment.
1granary.com/void
The Unseasonal #1
This new west coast US mag is a 274-meditation on art, fashion, travel and celebrity. A personal project of LA-based photographer Ger Ger, it is not short of material, and great care has been taken to ensure it is beautfully art directed and designed, yet it lacks the vital must-read sense of excitement that would make it essential.
theunseasonal.com
Elsie Annual #1
Moving to an annual format has been a strong move for this one-man creative team, aka Les Jones. It’s a celebration of creativity, design, illustration and conversation. There’s even a section about how to make your own magazine. Inserts and handwritten bits dotted throughout make each magazine in the 1000-copy production run unique.
elsiemagazine.com