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Contra Journal is a not-for profit publication that explores the relationship between art and conflict. In print and online.

Each thematic edition will focus on different interactions between society affected by conflict and visual culture. The first issue, titled Displacement, explores the visual response to current and past migrations.

03/06/2021

Researcher and curator Dr. Francesca Cavallo introduces her project A Manual for Every Disaster. From wartime civil protection campaigns, survival manuals and preppers guides to enduring a number of different doomsday scenarios, Francesca’s research explores publications that span more than a century and offer advice on what to do when it all goes wrong

The full feature, along with 30 contributors over 200 pages of ambitious new material, can be read in Issue 03 Ruin, available to purchase for £12 on our shop. Delve deeply into the viewpoint of artists examining the evocative theme of Ruin, spanning from the Middle Ages right up to present day.

http://contrajournal.com/shop

06/03/2021

A closer look inside issue 03 Ruin — John Jones

The Buddhist communities of Tibet have long had to battle to protect their identity from an occupying Chinese government, and in recent years tensions have intensified as thousands have been forced from their homes and countless buildings have been destroyed. In an exclusive feature for issue 03, Free Tibet’s John Jones recounts the devastating human impact of these acts, referred to by one resident as “destroying heaven”, and discusses the motivations at play.

The full feature, along with 30 contributors over 200 pages of ambitious new material, can be read in Issue 03 Ruin, available to purchase for £12 on our shop. Delve deeply into the viewpoint of artists examining the evocative theme of Ruin, spanning from the Middle Ages right up to present day.

Images courtesy of , https://instagram.com/travelingmipo

http://contrajournal.com/shop

30/01/2021

A closer look inside issue 03 Ruin — Danila Tkachenko

Our cover feature shows the eery and spectacular photographs of Moscow based artist Danila Tkachenko as he visited the abandoned sites of scientific advancement from the USSR in his 2012-15 project Restricted Areas. Defunct industrial machinery, ruined buildings and deserted military complexes appear as artificial megaliths set in the uninhabitable tundra of post-Soviet states. As Tkachenko explains, these remarkable images reveal ‘the perfect technocratic future that never came’

The full feature, along with 30 contributors over 200 pages of ambitious new material, can be read in Issue 03 Ruin, available to purchase for £12 on our shop. Delve deeply into the viewpoint of artists examining the evocative theme of Ruin, spanning from the Middle Ages right up to present day.

http://contrajournal.com/shop

30/10/2020

Graphic artist Victoria Lomasko, one of the contributors to Contra issue 02 Protest, smuggled herself across the border from Russia to Belarus this autumn to report on the protests against Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. The protests have taken place nationwide since Lukashenko claimed victory in August’s presidential election, which is widely viewed as having been rigged. Protestors have been subjected to mass arrests and violence by police, with dozens, including members of the opposition, going missing over the past couple of months.

Lomasko’s series, published on The Nib , highlights the women activist groups leading the protests, which have intensified since opposition politician Maria Kolesnikova was detained by masked men in September.

Images courtesy of Victoria Lomasko

See more on thenib.com/a-revolution-in-belarus/

16/10/2020

A statue of Medusa holding the head of Perseus has been installed poignantly opposite the New York County Criminal Court, where Harvey Weinstein was recently tried for sexual abuses. Sculpted by Luciano Garbati , and named “Medusa With The Head of Perseus”, it is a direct inversion of the statue of Perseus named “Perseus with the Head of Medusa” by Benvenuto Cellini. It highlights the victim-shaming of Medusa in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, in which she was r***d by Poseidon, leading to her curse and banishment imposed by Athena and eventual beheading of Medusa by Perseus.

It is brought as a collaboration from the artist-run NEW YORK - MWTH project , lead by photographer Bek Anderson , and NYC Parks, after the sculpture became popular on social media with the Me Too movement in 2018, now visible until April 2021 in Collect Pond Park, NY.

Although the statue has been criticised for representing an unrealistic and hairless female form - to which Garbati said he wanted to reflect the form of classical sculpture - for many it is a "symbol of resistance” that represents the moving forward of justice for victims of r**e.

10% of the proceeds of sculpture editions at the MWTH project goes to the National Women’s Law Centre. Images courtesy of mwthproject.com.

09/09/2020

The announcement we’ve all been waiting for. Issue 03 “Ruin” Digital Edition is AVAILABLE NOW! Purchase your copy from our online shop.
http://contrajournal.com

A specially curated selection of articles from issue 03, featuring contributions from Michael Rakowitz, Keith Piper, Shezad Dawood and many more - for only £4. And if you’re a print fan and want to read more, you can pre-order the full print edition for delivery in November for £12 now and receive a copy of the digital edition for free!

Throughout history, the notion of ‘ruin’ has captured our imaginations and presented spaces in which our wonder, desires and fears are immortalised. From visions of apocalypse to melancholic self-reflection, ‘ruin’ has been ever present in humanity’s contemplation of the world. However, in the 21st century ‘ruin’ has taken on new meaning. Faced with a world in which every passing day brings new challenges and fears, in which vast manifestations of decay have filled our news channels and social media feeds this year alone, a re-evaluation of ruin in this context feels pertinent. In issue 03 we hope to look upon ‘ruin’ with fresh eyes, not only at the anxieties that face society, but also at the stories of renewal, regeneration, revival and hope that emerge.

Visit our shop to order Issue 03 Ruin digital edition (or pre-order the print edition) and please join us for our free event celebrating the launch at 6:30pm TONIGHT (9th Sept) on YT Live or Zoom.
https://www.facebook.com/events/375685367159461

Design by Our Place Studio and with thanks to all our brilliant contributors

05/09/2020

A brand new events series for a brand new issue. Wednesday 9th September at 6.30PM (BST). Tune in online.

https://www.facebook.com/events/375685367159461/

26/08/2020

Big announcement.

On Wednesday 9th September (2 weeks from today), we will be releasing a specially curated digital edition of Contra featuring a selection of articles from Issue 03, available to purchase and download from our website.

Stay tuned for further information on the release as well as info on a special digital launch event.

06/08/2020

ISSUE 03 PREVIEW⁣
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“We use ruins as metaphors to reflect back upon ourselves, about futility, about ambition, ego – even progress.” ⁣
Simon Norfolk⁣
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Over a long and illustrious career, has captured the impact of conflict on our cities, our collective memory and our minds. His photographs are imbued with layers of time building slowly upon one another, of traces of the past left in the ground and defeated empires crumbling into the past. No publication on the theme of ruin would be complete without his work. ⁣
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In issue 03, he talks to Contra’s director and co-editor Ben Bohm-Duchen about his childhood journey from Nigeria to Manchester, how we use beauty to “retreat from pain”, and the unexpected theme that runs through all of his life’s work.⁣
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24/07/2020

ISSUE 03 PREVIEW⁣
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“How do we deal with abandonment, ruin, decay? How do we start to imagine ourselves as deeper caretakers of the things that exist in the world?” – Theaster Gates⁣
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Among the many devastating consequences of systemic racism in the US is that African Americans have had, throughout history, vastly unequal access to safe spaces to live and work. This is an issue at the heart of the work of artist , who has spent more than a decade transforming abandoned buildings on Chicago’s South Side into a hub for community and innovation. ⁣
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As part of issue 03’s new “Spotlight” section, Contra’s co-editor Alexander Morrison speaks to Victoria Sung, assistant curator at , about Gates’s role as a “world maker”, his love for forgotten objects and materials, and how his work is a reminder that “the things around us are worth investing in and caring for and believing in, even if society may say otherwise”.⁣
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Photo: Courtesy of Rebuild Foundation ; Photo: Sara Pooley. Courtesy White Cube⁣
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21/07/2020

We're one of the countless organisations whose work has been impacted by the Corona virus pandemic, yet while it has forced us to push things back this year, we are excited to be able to share some updates on our third issue, RUIN.

It's Contra's most ambitious edition yet, and over the coming weeks we'll be giving you a small taste of what's in store, from featured contributors to plans for the magazine's release.

Stay tuned for exciting info on the Digital Launch event in August, official release dates and how to get your copy of Issue 3.

09/07/2020

Described as a history painter of the emerging world, Chinese contemporary artist Liu Xiaodong, () is known for his paintings of ordinary people in complex political locations.⁣
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Xiaodong, who lives and works in Beijing, found himself and his family stranded in locked-down New⁣ York. In response to his immediate situation of being stranded in a city amidst an extreme historic moment, he took up documenting the city under Covid-19 lockdown, and then later in May, to document the Black Lives Matter Movement with his plein-air watercolour studies.⁣
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His recent studies are presented on Lisson’s Online Gallery Exhibition “Liu Xiaodong: Spring in New York” from 29 June – 12 July, 2020.⁣
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