White Fungus Issue 18 is soon to be released, preseales are available now.
Eileen Myles — An epic 80-page interview with New York poet and novelist Eileen Myles, accompanied by photographs from deep within their archive. The conversation traces several chapters of Myles’ life, from becoming a poet in 1970s New York and reading at CBGB to writing the cult classic Chelsea Girls. Myles discusses their mainstream crossover in 2015, involvement in the hit television series Transparent, travel to Palestine, overcoming alcoholism, their writing process, and much more.
Hilma af Klint and the Occult Roots of Modernism — An in-depth exploration of the profound role occultism played in the development of modern art, from Hilma af Klint and Wassily Kandinsky to the often overlooked semi-abstract works of 19th-century artist Georgiana Houghton, created decades before the conventional understanding of the beginnings of abstraction. The article examines the suppression of these esoteric roots in the official history of modernism and their re-emergence as a locus of interest in the twenty-first century.
Yao Jui-Chung — A photo essay of wide-angle Polaroids by Taipei artist Yao Jui-Chung capturing Madou Daitian Temple’s animatronic religious display alongside similar depictions of hell across Taiwan and Singapore. The images are accompanied by a text discussing the mythological Chinese concept of hell and its resonance in contemporary Taiwanese life.
Pavel Pepperstein — An interview with the Russian artist and novelist on the influence of children’s literature and hallucinogenics in conjuring his surreal futuristic landscapes—a style he calls “psychedelic realism.” The interview is accompanied by a text introducing the artist broadly, from his first LSD trip in Moscow’s Red Square near the end of the Soviet Union to his involvement in the collective Inspection Medical Hermeneutics, which dissolved following 9/11.
Dino (Liao Ming-Ho) — Yan Jun reflects on the life of the late Taiwanese noise music pioneer Dino, who created electronic music using feedback from simple analog equipment. He was also a lover of traditional tea ceremonies, a seal engraver, and a player of the guqin, a traditional Chinese stringed instrument favored by the literati. Dino is remembered not only for his artistry but also for his enigmatic lifestyle and unique mystical presence.