Cose Journal #3
230 x 300 mm, 264 pages
Milan, Italy (English-language)
Annual
First published in 2023
Founder and creative director: Giulia Nardi
Editor: Gilda Bruno
A beautifully designed, image-led title from Milano, Cose Journal (that’s Italian for things) is a study of our relationships to everyday objects and their functions, particularly against the backdrop of overconsumption and capitalism. Produced in a similar vein to the likes of Objection and Tools, each issue is dedicated to a single object. For their expanded third edition, that object is the ‘Bathroom Sink’: ‘a site of self-care, introspection, tranquility and ritual’.
On a pleasing mix of glossy and matt paper stocks, inside you’ll find mostly visual pieces documenting ‘the tactile, multisensory experience of this domestic surface, where textures, sounds and sensations converge into a hypnotic choreography’, from the sink’s surrounding tiles, to soaps, toothbrushes, combs, cotton buds, hairdryers, sponges, perfumes, used plasters, lipstick-smudged tissues, pills, powders, and all other manner of bathroom utensil and detritus imaginable.
You’ll also find an intriguing interview segment, in which a diverse cast of creatives, from the seemingly omnipresent curator Hans Obrist Ulrich to the bookshop owner and chocolatier Rafael Prieto, respond to the prompt of ‘fading reflections’; as well as editorial features—short stories in BIG type; three essays spanning indigenous hygiene tools and rituals, the beauty industry and the confronting nature of the bathroom mirror; and a conversation with Victoire de Taillac-Touhami, co-founder of the heritage French beauty brand Officine Universelle Buly.
This time with four different covers to choose from.