Frieze – Issue 196

“The human race has always clung to notions of borders, be they mental or physical. In recent years, though, welcome cracks are appearing—and that, as the great Leonard Cohen once sang, is how the light gets in.” –Jennifer Higgie

Marking 80 years since the invention of LSD and 200 years since Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the new issue of frieze is themed around “Altered States” — cultural eruption, artistic experimentation and transformation. Featured artists, writers and designers include Sonia Boyce, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Lantian Xie, David Lynch, Misheck Masamvu, Nick Mauss and Linda Stark among many others.

Face to Face

“Through the eyes of algorithms, our portraits no longer ‘resemble’ us.” Christy Lange looks at how artists including Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin, Dries Depoorter, Adam Harvey and Trevor Paglen are researching the creative and ethical potential of facial recognition technology.

Lantian Xie: Origin Myths

“Citizenship is only one way of belonging. There are many others.” Dubai-based artist Lantian Xie talks to Amy Sherlock about his work that mobilizes people, objects and symbols to question notions of authenticity.

Also featuring:
A new short story by Roy Scranton, with photography by Matthieu Lavanchy, imagines the disastrous effects of climate change; Jonathan Griffin encounters feminist symbolism and practical magic in Linda Stark’s paintings; Jennifer Higgie interviews Sonia Boyce about her 30-year career, opening up public discourse on gender, race and class; Nick Mauss explores queer histories of dance, as part of our “visual essay” series; and in the face of Zimbabwe’s “hyena politics,” Sean O’Toole reflects on the defiantly expressive paintings of Virginia Chihota, Misheck Masamvu, Gareth Nyandoro, Gresham Tapiwa Nyaude and Portia Zvavahera.

Columns and Reviews

From ketamine to leaky realities, Mark Pilkington discusses the inspiration for Paddy Chayefsky’s hallucinatory novel, Altered States; one year on, Ismail Einashe looks at cultural responses to the Grenfell Tower tragedy; on the eve of the World Cup, Harry Thorne reflects on the relationship between art and football; Michelle Orange discusses Iranian films that challenge the stereotype of movie-making in a repressive state; and designer and building scientist Mae-Ling Jovenes Lokko reveals her influences.

Plus: 29 exhibition reviews from around the world, including reports on Gallery Weekend Berlin and two shows on 20th-century Italian art: Post Zang Tumb Tuuum. Art, Life, Politics: Italia 1918–1943 at Fondazione Prada, Milan, and Dawn of a Nation: From Guttuso to Fontana and Schifano at Palazzo Strozzi, Florence.

Answering our questionnaire is David Lynch, whose television show Twin Peaks: The Return aired last year.

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