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PLASTIC EMOTIONS: Shiromi Pinto

CIRCUS: Wayne Koestenbaum

ALL DRESSED UP: photography by Charlotte Krieger

AMAZING GRACE: Aretha Franklin

ALL SURFACE: Joanna Wierzbicka

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TANK live

early work stands out at a retrospective of the artist’s greatest hits

in conversation with Slava Balasanov, founder of Relevant – a blockchain-based content-platform that incentivises community over clicks

read an extract from Wayne Koestenbaum’s newly reissued tragicomedy of desire

UNIVERSAL EVERYTHING:

a monograph of the digital design studio's visual masterpieces

WARHOL ON BASQUIAT:

a new book containing 400 unseen photographs open up the artists’ eccentric relationship to the public

listen to an exclusive new track from House of Suns, the sci-fi inspired collaboration from Swan Meat and DJ Heroin

IN CONVERSATION WITH MIKE JAY:

the writer and thinker discusses his new book Mescaline, a cultural and scientific history of the world’s first psychedelic

Ari Aster uses the violent rituals of a pagan cult to dramatise the disintegration of the neoliberal nuclear family

the London-streetwear network builds a following. By Sarah Muttardi

Travis Jeppesen’s willfully obtuse art criticism is also utterly brilliant

a live-film production of Aretha Franklin’s Amazing Grace, the best-selling gospel album of all time.

Orange, Caroline Shaw’s first full album-release since winning the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for Partita for 8 Voices

Justin E. H. Smith’s latest book unpicks the fundamental irrationality behind what we regard as rational

EASTERN MARGINS:

this extended edition of the TANK mix series comes via the London-based crew Eastern Margins, a collective of DJs and producers dedicated to creating spaces for music from east and south-east Asia(ns)

KISS MY GENDERS:

the Hayward gallery’s celebratory survey of gender variance grapples with the contradictions of LGBT+ visibility

CHARGEABLE ACCESSORIES:

photography by Alice Ray

ALL US GIRLS HAVE BEEN DEAD FOR SO LONG:

Carl Gent and Linda Stupart reimagine Kathy Acker for an age of environmental catastrophe

a tech company dominates with predictive algorithms and cryptocurrency in Joanna Kavenna’s sharp, new dystopia

PLASTIC EMOTIONS:

the latest novel by Shiromi Pinto tells the story of Minnette de Silva – a Sri Lankan architect, born in 1918, who achieved international acclaim within her lifetime

TOO MUCH INFORMATION:

Nick Seaton slips through the Biennale chaos to capture the in-between spaces of Venice

two summer exhibitions allow the curator’s childhood fascination with horror to run wild

IT DIDN’T SEEM TO BE REAL:

photography by Joanna Wierzbicka, styling by Kat Ambroziak

THE PEARL RIVER:

in a new collection of hyperreal images, Christian Lutz captures the sublime excess of Macao, China’s gambling capital

seven international writers will read works of fiction, live-translated to an audience, at the Manchester International Festival

MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL:

the biennial arts festival opens this week with a roster of bold, experimental performance, music and art

REBEL WITHOUT A COCK:

Kembra Pfahler’s radically open vision of sexuality revels in amateurism and artifice

IN CONVERSATION WITH NICOLE FLATTERY:

the Irish writer discusses purposeful confusion and her debut collection of short stories Show Them a Good Time

TANK spoke to the London-based artist about his recent demonic-hued show at Arcadia Missa

a new Brooklyn-by-way-of-Changchun collaboration from Yikii and Dasychira

THE WEIL CONJECTURES:

Karen Olsson unravels the lives of French philosopher Simone Weil and her mathematician brother André

NOMADIC FABRIC:

read an excerpt from Kristen Alvanson’s XYZT, a vertiginous whirlwind of American pulp and Persian fable

I LIVE I DIE I WILL BE REBORN:

Luchita Hurtado at the Serpentine – an exhibition shows the 98-year-old’s perpetual sense of play and experimentation

SAVAGE MESSIAH:

a collection of anti-gentrification zines from Laura Grace Ford

IN CONVERSATION WITH JESSICA FRANCIS KANE:

TANK spoke to the author about her book on trees and friendship, and rejecting nature’s association with solitude

Ivo Van Hove has teamed up with the historic Comédie-Française in a vast exploration of Nazi collusion.

Joanna Hogg’s autobiographical drama is a troubling exploration of class and compromising intimacy

SUMMER IN THE CITY:

photography by Sophie Isogai, styling by Saeko Sugai

The Photographers’ Gallery has introduced a new programme to unearth and celebrate new photography

art collective Dis update the protocols of consciousness-raising for an age of permanent distraction

the latest psycho-horror film from British director, Peter Strickland

pneumatic reggaeton from the South London producer and Bala Club co-founder

Sophie Lewis on water as a guiding figure for radical kinship

HYPERACTIVE, HYPERLOCAL:

Sisso, lynchpin of the exploding Singeli scene in Dar es Salaam, makes his long-awaited debut on Nyege Nyege Tapes

Bold Tendencies 2019 summer program sees the rooftop Peckham parking lot transformed into a nexus of otherworldly portals

INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED:

the problem with our plastic consumption isn’t just a practical one - it’s deeply psychological too

a new delicious farce from Cheek By Jowl’s Russian troupe

ADELAIDE IVANOVA:

a new poem, translated from the Portuguese by Rachel Long and Francisco Vilhena

THE WORLD OF BEFORE:

for their 2020 Cruise collection, Gucci present a vision of antiquity not as an unchanging idyll, but a world of rupture and reinvention

WHAT MAKES COMEDY COMEDY:

Lynne Tillman tells Natasha Stallard why nothing is funny anymore

ATTACK OF THE CHAIRS:

Jesse Darling makes the familiar strange at the Venice Biennale

an understated documentary on whistleblower Chelsea Manning tells an urgent story of pain, privacy and politics

OPACITY READING LIST:

in a surveillance society fueled by melodramas of intrigue and inquisition, it is uncertainty, not transparency, that promises relief

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DREAMS:

the best art at the 2019 Venice Biennale is also the least interesting

PSYCHOACOUSTIC INVESTIGATIONS:

A two-evening residency at the ICA celebrates the pioneering sonic experiments of the late composer Maryanne Amacher

with the language of the oceanic, Keiran Goddard maps the turbulence and sublimity of wounded love

RADICAL REWILDING:

an extract from Joanna Pocock’s Surrender, a personal essay about scavenging, rewilding and ecosex in the American West

HUNGER IN ME LIVING:

on his most focused release yet, Organ Tapes mines the indie-pop unconscious to produce a glowing masterclass in muffled euphoria

AUGUSTAS SERAPINAS:

in conversation with the youngest artist showing at this year’s Venice Biennale

Palmistry’s sophomore effort explores devotion and disconnection to find new complexities in his ultra-distinguished minimalist pop

INSTRUCTIONS FOR A FUNERAL:

a new short story collection from author David Means explores the isolation of the Midwest

members of the LGBTQ+ community communicate with their past

HELLO, VITALIK BUTERIN:

Hans Ulrich Obrist interviews the co-founder of Ethereum

crisp, carbonated dance music from Toxe and Mechatok’s new collaborative project

Will Wiles on imaginary places and “the Microsoft Windows of cities”

TANK MIX | UMRU:

search-engine-optimised chaos from the PC Music producer

SOFT SCULPTURE:

photography by Dave Blackburn, styling by Bonnie Langedijk

NATHAN JURGENSON READING LIST:

ahead of his TANK Book Talk appearance, a primer on the Snapchat sociologist’s prolific writing on social media, visual culture and digital dualism

ANTICIPATORY NOSTALGIA:

read an extract from Nathan Jurgenson’s The Social Photo on how digital platforms transform the way we see ourselves, others and the world

“The atomic structure of a single day contains the whole structure of a society and, in a wider sense, the world.” A short story by Sarah Thomas

a poem and a love letter from artist and writer Sophia Al-Maria

Adam Thirlwell on Kim Kardashian’s strange and moving book of selfies. From TANK’s archive

Heather Gildroy’s short film is a story of a story of youth and isolation in rural America

a new retrospective at Marian Goodman captures the late photographer’s devoted attention to the forgotten spaces of the world

LEANNE SHAPTON:

the artist and writer on her latest publication Guestbook: Ghost Stories, painting from photographs and spectral social media

A PLAGUE OF MICROBES:

an extract from Argentine writer Ariana Harwicz’s new novel, Feebleminded

a new podcast on the evil and complicated men who don't quite fit into the mainstream history of gay liberation

the multimedia artist discusses his latest project Cel, an immersive role play in which the protocols of hierarchical masculinity are enacted and interrogated

Erwin Wurm in conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist

“I think disorientation is the point of anthropology.”

PODCAST | MAN UP!

Adam All and Baby Lame – co-hosts of drag-king competition Man Up! – join us to discuss drag culture and performance.

FORM, FEMINISMS, FEMININITIES:

Rose English complicates ideas of the female form in the first show of Richard Saltoun’s year-long “100% Women” program

“Artificial stupidity in the form of bots and production robots is also a force to reckon with, leading to job losses, distorted realities on social media and proliferating dysfunctional technology”

in a major new exhibition, the eminent British photographer Martin Parr takes a satirical lens to nationalism and nostalgia

ROYAL HIDEAWAY:

behind the scenes at the resort location of TANK’s “Bon Voyage” shoot

THE TRIUMPH OF SOFTNESS OVER HARDNESS:

Dorothea Tanning at Tate Modern and her world of porous boundaries and formless objects

STORY TELLING FOR EARTHLY SURVIVAL:

Fabrizio Terranova’s understated portrait of feminist thinker Donna Haraway's exuberant imagination

WE ARE COSMONAUTS:

read an extract from Rosie Šnajdr experimental text on space flight and the paradoxes of transcendence

THE SOUND OF SILENT FILM:

an interview with Carl Davis, composer for television and film

TANK MIX | BABY BLUE:

an exclusive mix and Q&A with Vancouver-based producer and it-girl Baby Blue

the Chilean curator behind the Plataforma Atacama program on indigenity, cultural dialogue and the capacity of art to resist

virtual reality exploring the somatic connection between plant and human life

MOTION STUDIES:

read an extract from Jena Osman’s collection of poetic essays on the history of surveillance and scientific enquiry

a new generation of artists in Europe, with work spanning painting, sculpture, fashion, and video

an extract from Alia Trabucco Zerán’s debut novel, set in the Chilean city of Santiago

GENERATION NUMB:

producer/poet Palmistry returns with an icy and impressionistic anthem

Tom Morton on The Face and the the “Vortex” of ideas

photography by Bloom Paris, styling by Annabelle Jouot

ABSOLUTE MUSIC:

in conversation with the obscure Japanese composer June Chikuma

Rebecca Tamás’s poetry recasts language to feel more closely matched to human complexity

TINA READS FOOD OF THE FUTURE:

the strange legacies of the meal replacement, from early feminist fantasy to contemporary Silicon Valley reality

a triple-bill of female choreographers at the English National Ballet – Stina Quagebeur, Pina Bausch, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa

NO LOVE FOR WALMART:

can socialists learn lessons from Amazon, Uber and Walmart?

IS THIS TOMORROW:

30 artists and architects come together to present an uncertain future

electronic composer Holly Herndon collaborates with Spawn, an AI trained on collective vocal experimentation, on latest single “Eternal”

TANK MIX | MANG:

the latest TANK mix comes via London-based producer and DJ Mang, whose hi-res productions borrow from medieval RPG sound-design and 1990s hardcore

WORLDING READING LIST:

to imagine a world is to imagine it’s landscape - to render its trees, valleys, mountains and myths in concrete detail

BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO:

a sonic adaptation of Peter Strickland’s “Beberian Sound Studio” at the Donmar Warehouse

Stine Deja explores our ever-colliding real and virtual worlds through animation and digital image

the photographer documents graffiti artists in Paris

photography by Ali Mahdavi, styling by Catherine Baba. First published in the Blow-up issue, Autumn 2007

Matt Copson is a fox, who dreamt he was a man, who dreamt he was a fox, who makes some phone calls

Paolo Sorrentino returns to Italy of the early 2000’s to take on the myth and scandal of Berlusconi’s legacy

BIRDS OF PASSAGE:

a mythic tale of social collapse in the deserts of northern Columbia

Kettle’s Yard presents a monochrome set of images by the artist that play with chaos and order

a new reissue from Freedom to Spend provides a chance to revisit the bizarre and catchy 1980s music of Bomberman composer June Chikuma

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58th Venice Biennale

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DREAMS:

the best art at the 2019 Venice Biennale is also the least interesting

ATTACK OF THE CHAIRS:

Jesse Darling makes the familiar strange at the Venice Biennale

AUGUSTAS SERAPINAS:

in conversation with the youngest artist showing at this year’s Venice Biennale

the TANK team debrief on the 2019 Venice Biennale

from TANK’s archive. As Maria Grazia Chiuri’s new vision of Dior proposes a radical departure for the house, the award-winning video artist Laure Prouvost propounds an heroic femininity.

TOO MUCH INFORMATION:

Nick Seaton slips through the Biennale chaos to capture the in-between spaces of Venice

Film

Ari Aster uses the violent rituals of a pagan cult to dramatise the disintegration of the neoliberal nuclear family

an understated documentary on whistleblower Chelsea Manning tells an urgent story of pain, privacy and politics

a live-film production of Aretha Franklin’s Amazing Grace, the best-selling gospel album of all time.

the latest psycho-horror film from British director, Peter Strickland

set at the walls of an isolated detention centre of the coast of Australia, Gabrielle Brady’s documentary is a mythic fable of life and borders

THE SOUND OF SILENT FILM:

an interview with Carl Davis, composer for television and film

Ali Abbasi’s twisted fable of care and contamination

a young trans ballerina struggles to make it through puberty and find acceptance as a woman

Paolo Sorrentino returns to Italy of the early 2000’s to take on the myth and scandal of Berlusconi’s legacy

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Artists

the multimedia artist discusses his latest project Cel, an immersive role play in which the protocols of hierarchical masculinity are enacted and interrogated

MEGAN PLUNKETT:

the LA-based artist discusses working as an unlicensed private investigator, the site-specific internet and dogs that talk

AUGUSTAS SERAPINAS:

in conversation with the youngest artist showing at this year’s Venice Biennale

TANK spoke to the London-based artist about his recent demonic-hued show at Arcadia Missa

TANK spoke to the artist about how she processes digital culture through her craft and the idea of the disposable

CAJSA VON ZEIPEL:

TANK speaks to the New York-based sculptor about about working with silicone for the first time, the tension between desire and aversion, and the experience of showing at Condo 2019

Fashion

ALL DRESSED UP:

photography by Charlotte Krieger, styling by Marie Gibert

IT DIDN’T SEEM TO BE REAL:

photography by Joanna Wierzbicka, styling by Kat Ambroziak

INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED:

the problem with our plastic consumption isn’t just a practical one - it’s deeply psychological too

THE WORLD OF BEFORE:

for their 2020 Cruise collection, Gucci present a vision of antiquity not as an unchanging idyll, but a world of rupture and reinvention

SUMMER IN THE CITY:

photography by Sophie Isogai, styling by Saeko Sugai

COMMERCIAL BREAK:

photography by Pietro Cocco, styling by Francesca Crippa

from TANK’s archive. As Maria Grazia Chiuri’s new vision of Dior proposes a radical departure for the house, the award-winning video artist Laure Prouvost propounds an heroic femininity.

photography by Roni Ahn, styling by Jo Heng

sameness and difference in earthy tones. Photography by Yuji Fukuhara, styling by Rumiko Koyama

THE SILENCE OF KIRSTEN OWEN:

From TANK’s archive. Photography by Dario Catellani, styling by Vittoria Cerciello, words by Naomi Bikis

FEELINGS OVER MEANING:

Milan during fashion week was (maybe still is) in the grips of a dark but emotionally charged mood

subtle layers beneath a crisp sun. Photography by Pierre Lequeux, Styling by Carolina Augustin

looks that lead you up the garden path. Photography by Charlotte Krieger, styling by Marie Gibert

PERIPHERAL VISION:

Fashion from the outskirts. Photography by Bloom Paris

WORK EXPERIENCE:

our latest fashion editorial is an ode to the intern. Photography by Sophie Tajan, styling by Gemma Bedini

brave new frills, strange new folds. Fashion from the Bubbles issue

PLAYING THE FIELD:

town meets country through traditional tweeds and checks in our latest autumn/winter editorial

visceral tones contend with heat of late summer in this still life from Barcelona. Photography by Javi Dardo, styling by Eva Bernal

THE MOST RADICAL GESTURE:

with the arrival of Alessandro Michele in 2015, Gucci experienced a profound détournement. With a painterly eye, Hellen van Meene envisioned a new future for the house. From TANK's Realism Issue

struggling to find an affordable home? Find a perfect house and outfit to match in this fashion video from the Gossip Issue

MALTESE MEDITATIONS:

a woman walks alone in the Mediterranean archipelago. Photography by Stephanie Galea, styling by Sally Anne Bolton

“The sphere is the interior, disclosed, shared realm inhabited by humans”, says the philosopher Peter Slotterdijk. In this shoot from the archive, styles are inspired by the rich metaphorical world of bubbles

the New York-based label brings its off-beat vision to London’s Serpentine Gallery with a mesmeric performance and preview for their Spring/Summer 2019 collection

HEAVENLY BODIES:

a return to Palais Bulles, scene of one of Raf Simons’ final collections for Dior, alongside memories of his tenure from industry experts and beyond

YOU’RE MY FAVOURITE WORK OF ART:

Colour and form define this shoot set in David Hockney’s first London apartment. From the Realism Issue

NEW FALL NOT YET BORN:

bleached tones and traces of sportswear carry through late echoes of summer. Photography by Marek Chorzepa, styling by Kat Ambroziak

SEINE STROLLING:

Chanel’s autumn 2018 haute couture collection is an elegant love letter to Paris

Olivier Saillard’s unique collection makes Madame Grès-inspired haute couture out of €5 T-shirts

the ties that bind, the bloodlines that hold. From the archive: photography by Estelle Hanania, styling by Benoît Bèthume

A WORD IN YOUR SHELL-LIKE:

from earrings to ears, information travels fast. Photography by Sohrab Golsorkhi-Ainslie, styling by Hamish Wirgman. Fashion from the Gossip Issue

SUPER SET MASTER:

an interview with the late, great Michael Howells, the celebrated production designer who worked at the cutting edge of fashion, theatre and film for over 30 years

REVOLUTION REVISITED:

Alessandro Michele’s reconceptualisation of Gucci continues to expound a new and insurgent baroque, captured by the heightened realism of Sarah Dobai’s photography. From the Gossip Issue

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TANK talks

“Artificial stupidity in the form of bots and production robots is also a force to reckon with, leading to job losses, distorted realities on social media and proliferating dysfunctional technology”

OLGA TOKARCZUK:

“Thinking for me means asking the right questions, paradoxical questions.” The Polish novelist discusses ‘Flights’, the novel that was awarded the 2018 Man Booker International Prize.”

ELYSIA CRAMPTON:

“Historically linear models conceal long and ancient channels of resistance.” Crampton’s densely allusive work is inflected by Andean tradition, critical theory and a legacy of trans resistance

““It’s a blessing out of God’s hands. I’m pushing the standards.” An interview with hip-hop’s off-beat philosopher.”

OTTESSA MOSHFEGH:

“I am interested in how we are both of those things: we are spiritual and we’re human poop machines.” Moshfegh’s lurid imagination and wry prose makes idiots of us all.”

“Being a poet, words are often in your mind.” John Giorno is a poet and performance artist, and was a major feature of the New York underground scene of the 1960s.”

Podcast

IN CONVERSATION WITH MIKE JAY:

the writer and thinker discusses his new book Mescaline, a cultural and scientific history of the world’s first psychedelic

IN CONVERSATION WITH NICOLE FLATTERY:

the Irish writer discusses purposeful confusion and her debut collection of short stories Show Them a Good Time

the TANK team debrief on the 2019 Venice Biennale

PODCAST | MAN UP!

Adam All and Baby Lame – co-hosts of drag-king competition Man Up! – join us to discuss drag culture and performance.

PODCAST | A RADICAL HEART:

Fatima Bhutto joins TANK to discuss her latest book, The Runaways, which explores how modern alienation drives radicalisation

PODCAST WITH OWEN HATHERLEY:

the writer and journalist discusses the complex legacy of the USSR 15 years after the end of history

are the days of human translators numbered, or will translation technology’s lack of linguistic nuance continue to be a flaw that’s impossible to ignore?

IN CONVERSATION WITH JOE KENNEDY:

writer and cultural theorist Joe Kennedy discusses his concept of "authentocracy" and the reactionary folksiness of British culture

SOMETHING MORE THAN SUPERFICIAL PERFECTION:

a reading by Tina, TANK's full time voiceover artist

HERE AND NO ELSEWHERE:

the forces of today prefer a lesser, not greater, outdoors

IN CONVERSATION WITH JOEY ZWILLINGER:

the co-founder of the much buzzed about footwear startup Allbirds speaks to Caroline Issa about making the jump from biotech to fashion, building a mission-led business and embedding purpose into your product

IN CONVERSATION WITH LYNNE TILLMAN:

following her TANK Book Talk, the American author and critic discusses virulent masculinity and the process behind her latest novel, Men and Apparitions.

a reading from Tina, TANK'S full-time voiceover artist, excerpted from our latest Travel issue

IN CONVERSATION WITH PATRICK DEWITT:

the Man-Booker shortlisted author discusses his latest novel ‘French Exit’, which offers a surreal take on the comedy of manners

IN CONVERSATION WITH MARK FORD:

the poet discusses his autobiographical turn, growing up across the world, being drugged on a train to Madrid, meeting Allen Ginsberg and more

IN CONVERSATION WITH JAMES BRIDLE:

the artist and writer discusses his latest book, New Dark Age, which tackles how technology has led us into a world of ever-increasing incomprehension

IN CONVERSATION WITH LUBAINA HIMID:

Ismail Einashe speaks to the artist about the aftermath of winning the 2017 Turner Prize and the enduring need to address Europe’s colonial legacy

IN CONVERSATION WITH MADELINE MILLER:

the Orange Prize-winning novelist reads from her latest book, Circe

ANTON VIDOKLE ON COSMISM:

the artist and filmmaker charts the unexpected revival of the Russian philosophy

IN CONVERSATION WITH DANIEL TRILLING:

In this episode of the TANK magazine podcast, Ismail Einashe talks to the journalist and editor of New Humanist, Daniel Trilling

FLASH FICTION FROM NADIFA MOHAMED:

"The Maid" is a caustic story of abuse and inequality

RUSSIA IN THE LATE SUMMER:

the academic and children's author Katherine Rundell returns to the ever-changing beauty of St Petersburg

BOOKS AND DRUGS AND ROCK AND ROLL:

in conversation with Carl Williams

LIBERALISM AND IGNORANCE:

the philosopher Daniel DeNicola speaks to the author Edmund Fawcett.

MONSTERS AND OUTSIDERS:

In conversation with the author Charlie Fox

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Books issue, 2019 | Issue 79 | BUY THIS ISSUE

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