Simulacrum Vol. 34, #2
115 x 275 mm, 78 pages
Amsterdam, Netherlands (English-language)
Quarterly
Editors: Ischa Borger & Merthe Voorhoeve
Design: Yoohee Cha
Netherlands-based arts and culture publication Simulacrum explores a different theme with every issue. Platforming topics from both historical and contemporary perspectives, their features are written by both established experts and up-and-coming writers (student writers are welcome here).
This latest issue examines the theme ‘Motherboard’, the printed circuit board that is the backbone of our computers. This technological object is approached as the engine powering our ideas of frictionless progress, data extraction and techno-spiritual promise of utopia. ‘As the process of ‘digitisation’ powers through, the motherboard gains ground, which is why we set out to investigate its many layers.‘
Simulacrum always offers broad readings on a subject, from factual essay to fiction, art and profiles. This issue is particularly strong, opening with an essay by Peter Polack, who argues that the effect of digital fakery is making us more guarded and anxious about every aspect of our lives; elsewhere, graphic designer Matthijs Zeman shares a series of images sourced from unprotected surveillance cameras from a round the world—traffic jams, dogs at play, garden furniture left standing overnight, and Macarena Magana Villar tells the story of Trisha Paytas, a pioneer of online self-exposure.