Te #4
185 x 260mm, 172 pages
Beijing, China and New York, US (English and Chinese-language)
Annual
Published since 2021
Editors: Michael Guo and Kechun Qin
Designer and art director: Can Yang
Tactile and beautifully compiled, Te explores contemporary art and cultural anthropology, its name derived from the Hokkien pronunciation of ‘tea’ (dæ) and difference in spelling highlighting the globalising forces of human history. Each issue elegantly synthesises Chinese and European design elements, making for a busy, beautiful, layered set of essays, interviews and visuals.
This fourth edition is themed ‘Spinal Memory,’ and reflects on the way we humans have grown to regard ourselves as superior to non-human animals—‘the others.’ Ten stories ask whether it possible for us to construct a more equal multi-species world: from the story of the first giraffe in Czechoslovakia, to the way we present animal specimans in museums, and the destabilisation of bird migration by climate change and urbanisation, a vivid picture emerges of the often brutal way we punch down on other species. That relationship is only partially rebalanced as we discover the many flaws in the current evolution of our spines, the symbol of our superiority.