Conversing with Matter
Summary
101
New Materialisms
Winter 2021
By emphasizing the expressiveness of matter, its dynamism and its agentivity, neo-materialist theories distinguish themselves from classical materialist philosophy, which tends to perceive matter as being essentially passive and inert. This feature reflects on the reconfiguration of matter in the light of social, political, artistic and scientific practices that are no longer confined to the human spectrum, but concern the whole of "life," including the "non-living."
Editorial
Feature
The Ethics of Material Visibility
Monstrous Matter
A Many-Handed Practice
Cannibal Actif: The Artist Book as Threshold for Material Encounters
Material Expressivity in Active Materials
Beyond the Image: When the Materiality of the Photograph Eclipses Representation
Zero Sum: Kristiina Lahde’s Systems of Objects
Sinks and Spills: The Containment and Entanglements of Matter-Bodies in Frédéric-Back Park
Portfolios
Columns
Reviews
Videos
Current Issue
Immersion
Winter 2026
This issue is interested in all forms of immersion in contemporary art. How are artists critically engaging with immersive technologies? Conversely, what kinds of practices are challenging technology in their pursuit of immersion? How are these experiences breaking down the boundaries between spectator, body, and art? We put forward proposals that rely on listening and sustained attention rather than on amplification and sensory overload – works using devices that are sometimes relatively simple and non-invasive, sometimes a little more elaborate, but in which participation is, with a few nuances, neither passive nor devoid of critical thinking.
Cover: doux soft club
bleu de lieu, 2023-2024.
Photo: Cléo Sjölander, courtesy of the artists