The magic of the fifth of December 

I remember the excitement as a kid. The joy of the mystery and the wonders of secrets and traditions. Not just on the fifth but the days leading up to it. I don’t believe there is a thing as being too early for a holiday. That’s what makes it exciting, that is what fills youContinue reading “The magic of the fifth of December “

A Footnote On Heartbreak

Photo by Lhya Munive In her poem “The Lover as Tapeworm,” Olivia Gatwood asks: “how is it / possible / that you / are both / my joy / & the taker / of it?” I’ve been thinking about these lines every day for the past month. Needless to say, I’ve been thinking about theContinue reading “A Footnote On Heartbreak”

The Benefits of Romanticisation

Kat, etching by Marcel Schellekens (Ann’s Art Gallery) Like nearly everyone, there are periods in my life where feeling happy seems like the hardest thing in the world to me. When I’m lucky, these only last a few days or hours instead of weeks or months. No matter how long they actually last, what alwaysContinue reading “The Benefits of Romanticisation”

The Beauty and the Bland of Robin Hood

In the realm of pop culture analysis, like with most things, a lot of attention is given to few, and little attention is given to most. There are countless analyses of The Shining, ranging from ruminations on cinematography and set-design to theories about its depiction of Native Americans and its links to the moon landing,Continue reading “The Beauty and the Bland of Robin Hood”

What Mitski Tells Us About Capitalism and Art

I cry at the start of every Mitski song / I guess cause I wish I was making things too. Yeah, I know, very meta of me to almost quote the beginning of the song, but that line never ceases to amaze me. Mitski is describing the thought most artists have: the realization that youContinue reading “What Mitski Tells Us About Capitalism and Art”

Endings: Outer Wilds and the Inevitable

*Mild Spoilers for Outer Wilds1 ahead* I awakened by the campfire on Timber Hearth, my home, ascended to the launch site where a cobbled together ship stood, waiting to take me to the stars, a bright yellow sun encouraging me onward. Gingerly, I travelled outward and landed on the Hearthian moon. There, I meet EskerContinue reading “Endings: Outer Wilds and the Inevitable”

Home

I can go anywhere I want, just not home.  The fifth track of Taylor Swift’s album folklore, “my tears ricochet”, features one of the most relatable lyrics I’ve ever heard. Even though I acknowledge that the context behind this phrase is completely different to the one I put when listening to it, it is stillContinue reading “Home”

Margaret, the Males aren’t Gazing: The Man in my Head Keeps Torturing Me

© Nicolas Regnier ‘Male fantasies, male fantasies, is everything run by male fantasies? Up on a pedestal or down on your knees, it’s all a male fantasy: that you’re strong enough to take what they dish out, or else too weak to do anything about it. Even pretending you aren’t catering to male fantasies isContinue reading “Margaret, the Males aren’t Gazing: The Man in my Head Keeps Torturing Me”

Series of essays on art and laziness as a form of rebellion

Wabi sabi and the picturesque The classic Japanese concept of Wabi-sabi is the beauty of the imperfect, impermanent, incomplete and broken. This concept is reflected in the west through the work of the William Gilpin. His writing responded to the grandfather of aesthetic-theory, Edmund Burke, who claimed that the key elements of beauty are smoothnessContinue reading “Series of essays on art and laziness as a form of rebellion”

Flash Fiction Competition 2022 – Second Place: A Lake of Hidden Wonders

by Noelani Luckas „There’s something in the water“, Ifna stated, crouching beside the dark lake that stretched out all the way to the horizon. From above, it was a bleak, black smudge in the landscape. Not that anyone actually dared to cross it, even from the sky.  Ifna touched the black water with her fingertips,Continue reading “Flash Fiction Competition 2022 – Second Place: A Lake of Hidden Wonders”