Spring/Summer 2023: Editorial notes
June 2023
The inaugural issue of no exits thinks through the idea of the vessel. Through this process, we encountered many ways to approach the vessel, reflecting not only on its use as a container, but also as a vehicle, time capsule, and landing space. The vessel is also an object prone to leaks, spills, and erosion.
For this issue, we publish seven texts that consider the vessel, its shapes, limitations, and associations. Vessel includes conversations between cultural worker Jessie Krish and Amsterdam and Reykjavik-based artist Á. Birna Björnsdóttir on the leakiness of her work springing from a sprouting potato; makers Kaye Bonnar and Jade Cowans on the fluidity of creative practice; and writer and musician Niki Colet with artist-curator Izzy Waite about holding onto memories through not-so utilitarian objects.
Expanding on the possibilities and shifting nature of the vessel, curator Jael Arazi eulogizes her previous phone that tragically passed away without back ups; in Banana box bears, editor Wing Chan works through her obsession with the banana box as a carrier and metaphor; artist-curator Ciar O’Mahony approaches ChatGPT with apprehension and fascination; and researcher Emilia Escobar writes about London-based artist Eloise Maltby Maland’s ongoing project Condensing Clouds and the 21st century space race.
no exits was started as a way to explore the work of artists, writers, curators, cultural workers, and makers. It exists to expand on their recent fascinations, obsessions, and directions. We think about the ways that our individual and collective practices have morphed and diverted, either out of necessity or impulse. The desire for us to publish came from an urge to catch up with friends, ask questions, and encourage different experiments.
As we intimately dissect the ideas presented to us through these seven texts, Vessel has only become a more fitting subject. There is a sense of comfort in being able to hold these thoughts together in one place. This first collection, and the following to come, act as a container for the stories and practices of everyone involved.
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For this issue, we publish seven texts that consider the vessel, its shapes, limitations, and associations. Vessel includes conversations between cultural worker Jessie Krish and Amsterdam and Reykjavik-based artist Á. Birna Björnsdóttir on the leakiness of her work springing from a sprouting potato; makers Kaye Bonnar and Jade Cowans on the fluidity of creative practice; and writer and musician Niki Colet with artist-curator Izzy Waite about holding onto memories through not-so utilitarian objects.
Expanding on the possibilities and shifting nature of the vessel, curator Jael Arazi eulogizes her previous phone that tragically passed away without back ups; in Banana box bears, editor Wing Chan works through her obsession with the banana box as a carrier and metaphor; artist-curator Ciar O’Mahony approaches ChatGPT with apprehension and fascination; and researcher Emilia Escobar writes about London-based artist Eloise Maltby Maland’s ongoing project Condensing Clouds and the 21st century space race.
no exits was started as a way to explore the work of artists, writers, curators, cultural workers, and makers. It exists to expand on their recent fascinations, obsessions, and directions. We think about the ways that our individual and collective practices have morphed and diverted, either out of necessity or impulse. The desire for us to publish came from an urge to catch up with friends, ask questions, and encourage different experiments.
As we intimately dissect the ideas presented to us through these seven texts, Vessel has only become a more fitting subject. There is a sense of comfort in being able to hold these thoughts together in one place. This first collection, and the following to come, act as a container for the stories and practices of everyone involved.
Spring/Summer 2023