One of the most important political stories in 2018, I think, was the stripper strike in New York City. By which I mean to suggest that strippers are often not legible as agents of politics.

By which I mean to suggest that when New York strippers were photographed by Jonathan Turton for Dazed Digital in March, alongside a feature, it could never be enough, however stunning. Red fishnets, immaculate weave, see-through platform heels, leather whips, acrylic middle fingers in the air, plastic cups with drinks half full—the accoutrements of performance (which index not actual lives but imagination and fantasy) carry stories uncapturable by the average camera, no matter how hard technologists try.

Melissa Juratowitch stars in Kurt Johnson’s homage to Ryuko Azuma’s Doorknob Girl—does it turn you on? But it’s only a doorknob!

Published in Issue 19 Interview by Claire Milbrath Images courtesy of the artist and Anton Kern Gallery   I asked Julie Curtiss for an explanation of the four recurring symbols that make a painting a Julie Curtiss painting: hair, cigarettes, fingernails, heels. To say her work reminds me of Rorschach inkblot tests seems a bit…

With shifts in consciousness and a warming world, we are grappling with gradually losing all we had hoped the environment could offer. The natural world becomes, increasingly, fodder for a fantasy—a refracted chimera of buds, vines, and plump fruit. Caroline David’s work reminds me of my favourite video game, Rayman 2: The Great Escape. Rayman—though a bit of a simpleton—occupies a landscape that is ethereal, mysterious, and abundant. Bouncing plums, sparkling lums, teensies and Globox, this dreamworld feels safe because it’s so far removed from reality. It subsists despite human intervention, is ever-lush and effervescent.

Jasmine Armani is a model, musician, and poet. Better known by her Instagram moniker @bbyafricka, Armani has been a muse for LA design house No Sesso, and recently posed for David LaChapelle’s Spring/Summer 2019 Kenzo campaign, just before the birth of her son, Shavo. In addition to her many talents, Armani is a new mommy! We talk to the iconic matriarch about what it’s really like to give birth.

In The Darby Bonarsky Story, Dasha Nekrasova plays a melodramatic, self-destructive actress whose commitment to her craft is only rivalled by her love of alcohol and schoolgirl skirts. It’s one of many canny, close-to-life performances over the past few years that have in many ways made Dasha the crisis actress of the moment. A Russian ex-pat raised in Las Vegas, with a degree in Lacanian Theory, she has since made a name for herself in all forms of contemporary celebrity: model, podcaster, meme icon, aspiring it-girl, and—with the release of Eugene Kotlyarenko’s Wobble Palace—movie star. Dasha reaches each triumphant milestone with her signature charisma and charm.

Freaky, and a little bit demented, the current exhibition on view in New Jersey at Harpy Gallery features the work of Nick Payne, Andrea Lukic and Trevor Baird. Each of these artists makes eerily personal work. Looking at it feels as if we’ve entered their bedrooms, stumbled on a crusty sock or a conspiracy theory…

XGirl Lola shot in horse-girl style by Manon Macasaet

Instability, a globe like ours, resting
on a pedestal of vacuum, a ping-pong ball…

Eugene Kotlyarenko is the most relentless auteur of millennial indie. Since the release of his tour-de-force 0s & 1s—a multicam post-internet fable of a young man’s quest to be reunited with his laptop—Eugene has consistently been making films that showcase the rising personalities of the avant-garde, propelling them onto increasingly bigger screens.

Not a perfect romance. But nothing ever is.

PUBLISHED IN ISSUE 19 PHOTOS BY DUSTIN HENRY It’s undeniable that Etienne Gange has got the look! We asked the Montreal skater what makes him tick. Photos by Dustin Henry. Special thanks to Vans for making it happen!  

She’s got a long neck and attitude to match. Whip-smart, carefree, and boiling-over with acuity. With big strange chunks of cardboard taped to the sides of her face, she blocks out the has-beens of seasons past. Her body, a loose hose, motions confidently to the future of elegance.

Fate is terrifying. What cannot be seen is infinitely more powerful, trans-dimensional… I do think we participate in fate so at least there’s an element of control.

You’re probably all a bit concerned about the climate at this point. I bet a lot of you read  articles, discuss climate change with your friends, recycle, and maybe even make an effort to vote green. But really, the concern is largely academic for a lot of us. When the climate shit hits the fan, the people reading this are probably going to be pretty safe.

Nena Madalena’s paintings are joy transmissions. When our bodies stop working, are we as free as this? Colourful, patient brushstrokes and meticulous patterns depict the things the artist holds close to her heart: family, children, flora and fauna.