LOST FUTURES issue 2: still life
In LOST FUTURES, we want to hear about worlds that could have been, should have been, or weren’t. Futures that tried to bring themselves into existence but whose spark burned out. Of the lives you might have had if things were different.
Issue 1: in search of lost time is heading to the printers soon! Containing work from me, daniel bristow-bailey, alyssa, ana mijatovic, christian kitson, duunya, julia slupska and jon rainford. Everyone has interpreted LOST FUTURES differently: laments for things that are no more, celebrations of moments of change, and suggestions of futures we might divine for ourselves. If you're interested in a copy, get in contact and I'll let you know when we've printed.
Issue 2’s theme is ‘still life’: richly painted moments of life standing still. This could be in the typical sense - inanimate subject matter - or it could be portraits of life that is arrested, halted, held in motion. What does the future look like when we slow down, are forced to stop, or never got moving at all?
When you think of still life, you might immediately think of fruit on tables. That's not necessarily what this issue is about (though of course, you are welcome to work with that). I'm thinking about the process of creating a still life: capturing the tiny details of frozen seconds. Still life paintings aren't about the fruit on the table - they're about the way the light hits the pear, the sheen of the orange, the sturdiness of the tabletop. When we bring that to LOST FUTURES, we're thinking about the moments that changed everything; the fleeting visions of worlds that can't or won't be; the way your heart was in your chest when you found yourself finally standing alone at the train station.
LOST FUTURES takes submissions in any format. If you have an idea, we’ll work it out. Primarily it is intended to be a paper zine format, but if you’ve got something that needs to be heard or watched, we’ll work it out. If in doubt, contact me and we can think about how it might work.
We take art, poetry, prose, design, stories about your life, photography, documentation of exhibitions, music, personal essays, extended rants, screenshots of texts you feel like somehow explain the meaning of life. Anything. We’ll work it out together. We don't publish anything oppressive. No misogynistic, racist, hateful, ableist, transphobic, classist content. We're explicitly trans and LGBTQ+ positive.
We cover print costs. Once print costs are recouped, whatever’s left will be shared equally amongst accepted contributors.
Email submissions to kieran[at]fractalsdesign[dot]uk. If you have any questions then feel free to send them there too.
Submissions for issue 2 close 28th February 2020. If you’re reading this after that date, submissions are still accepted - but for a later issue.