INTRODUCING ISSUE 9: SUSTAINABILITY

PREORDER ISSUE 9 HERE.
$30 EACH
Limited edition of 100
15″ X 11″ 80LB UNCOATED PAPER
SOFT TOUCH COVER

Swiftly, inexorably, members of our species are beginning to become aware of a world that exists beyond the confines of our specific cultures and lives — beginning to recognize, that is, that our own personal, social, and political crises reflect a growing crisis in the biological matrix of life on the planet. The ecological crisis may be the result of a recent and collective perceptual disorder in our species, a unique form of myopia which we now perceive and must race to delay and correct. For many who have regained a genuine depth perception — recognizing our own embodiment as entirely internal to, and thus wholly dependent upon, the vaster body of the Earth — the only possible course of action is to begin planning and working on behalf of the ecological world which we now discern.

And yet ecological thinking is still having trouble taking root in the human world, despite these past two years of global pandemic and accelerating ecological disasters — it is still viewed by most as just another ideology. Meanwhile, ecological science remains a highly specialized and inaccessible discipline circumscribed within a mostly mechanistic biology. It is my belief that this collection of imaginative approaches to Sustainability can provide seeds for new and radical philosophies of ecological awareness. This issue of Forecast seeks to remain true to the diversity of experience in our biosphere and suggest a range of cultural transformations that withstand the test of time, remain relevant, solve problems, create legacy, and offer a capacious way to think about the world we share with other kinds of beings.

Issue 9 is unique in that it begins with the stories places tell about themselves, through their human interlocutors. Some of us listened to the speech of stones, as renowned writer Terry Tempest Williams did, in her beloved Castle Valley, Utah. Others performed eco-sexual marriages with the earth (Caroline Huntley Coxe) or drove through the western US on a road trip seen from the perspective of bison (Brooke Williams). Often, the focus was boldly imaginative, for example considering the stars from the Atacama desert in Chile and how indigenous cosmologies contribute to emerging discourse on space exploration, synthetic biology and extended intelligence (Prathima Muniyappa).

A selection of non-fiction reportage offers a deeper investigation into diverse topics, such as indigenous approaches to fire control in California (Char Miller), trans and BIPOC activist resources for mutual aid during the pandemic (Li Pallas), and how to die a green death and live a green life (Caylin Ellowitz), with a discussion of eco-funerary practice, adaptive reuse, and sustainable development. Often, the focus is close to home, whether in designing fashion that can be created from trash (Abigail Tate + Jessica Prasertsri), or analyzing the role of health care workers and their families during the COVID-19 crisis, as a form of secular religious sacrifice of the economically insecure (Tsering Say). In different ways, two writers offer philosophical essays that consider alternative cosmologies and cultural ontologies that contribute to emerging discourse on indigenous futurism and sacred technologies (Kythe Heller + Rodrigo Cáceres). We round out the issue with an interview which re-imagines the colonialist implications of the white cube as an art space (Jeff Mark Leavitt + Caroline Huntley Coxe) and a poem that zooms out to consider the geological time scales of the biosphere we inhabit together (Katy Gurin).

As Forecast continues to add exploratory media channels, the opportunity for mixed-genre (and mixed media) has grown for the artists involved. We are thrilled to present our first issue devoted to sustainability; we hope it inspires and challenges you to create the future you seek.

Kythe Heller
Editor-in-Chief, Forecast Journal

RELEASE EXHIBITION EVENT ON 03.12.22

EVENT INFO
DATE: MARCH 12, 2022
TIME: 7-10 PM PST
WEST ADAMS ART GALLERY
1443 W Jefferson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
FILM PHOTOGRAPHY FROM ISSUE 9
SCREENING NEW SUPER8 FILM FROM MARIZÓ SILLER
PERFORMANCES CHOREOGRAPHED BY CARISSA KROEGER
ALL MUSIC COMPOSED + CURATED BY KIN CASSINI
LIVE STREAMING TO THE HYPEROBJECT METAVERSE

Forecast invites you to join us on Saturday, March 12th for a one-night-only exhibition event from 7–10 PM, to experience and celebrate the completion of our newest milestone, the ninth issue of Forecast Journal titled Sustainability. With contributions from 75 artists over the last 18 months, issue nine presents a collection of 14 new essays, articles, and poems confronting that which withstands the test of time, remains relevant, solves problems, creates legacy, and considers interspecies coexistence across 130 pages of text and image in a limited edition of 100 copies.

Making this issue was an unforgettable adventure and it has been a true honor to watch our art collective evolve and grow together through the creative process. Issue 9 is the debut work of our new editor-in-chief Kythe Heller and new producer Lauren Lakin. We have welcomed a total of 50 new artists to our collective and are overwhelmed with the reciprocation of love and support we have received from each of them. Thank you all for trusting us.

This issue is also accompanied by an experimental short film directed by Marizó Siller on Super8 film for “Paleozoic Plate Tectonics,” written by Katy Gurin and featuring performances by Charissa Kroeger, Melanie Au-Yeung and Sara D, and an original music score by Kin Cassini

The photography from Issue 9 as well as the super8 film will be presented for the first time at the Issue 9 exhibition event. We have also coordinated two live performances choreographed by Charissa Kroeger who will be dancing alongside Agustine Perez, Brenna Dwyer, Jessie Lee Thorne, Madaline Riley, Melanie Au-Yeung, Sam SharmanShauna Davis. Musical genius and vibe composer Kin Cassini made original music for these incredible dance performances. 

This event will take place in an old theater that has been restored and converted into a beautiful gallery space in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Please RSVP for the address via info@forecastjournal.us. You can now pre order your copy of Issue 9 on forecastjournal.us

Special thank you to Vatom and Gaida Studios for making a live stream of this event into the Hyperobject metaverse possible. Thanks to Dot Red for including Issue 9 on their platform for online audio/visual tours of art exhibitions. Thanks to Upson Projects for bringing in living plants for the exhibition. Thanks to 2nd Class Citizenz for including us in their new documentary project, Find Your Ikigai. And cheers to our wonderful organic, gluten-free wine sponsor, Fresh Vine Wine!

CONTENTS + CONTRIBUTORS

EDITORIAL STAFF

FARIDA AMAR, publisher + creative director

KYTHE HELLER, editor-in-chief

LAUREN LAKIN, producer

CAROLINE HUNTLEY COXE, assistant editor

JOHN TOTTENHAM, copy editor

The Resonance of Stone

Terry Tempest Williams, Meka Tome, Foreste Jean Feely, Kate Schofield, Smokey Alexander

Space between Space

Prathima Muniyappa, Lorrin Brubaker, Caitrin Walsh, Charissa Kroeger, Lee Busch, Melanie Au-Yeung, Nayomi Van Brundt, Oliver Greene-Cramer

Ecosexuality and The Sublime

Caroline Coxe, Jack X Proctor, Noah Luke, Huntrezz Janos, Sam Sharman, Saira Kaur, Kirsten Pegeron

As Told by Bison

Brooke Williams, Sarah London, Caitrin Walsh, Mark Morante, Saira Kaur

Architects of Smoke

Char Miller, Adam Patrick Daniel Hutsell, Daron Bell, Jessie Lee Thorne, Saira Kaur

Trans and BIPOC Mutual Aid

Li Pallas, Samantha Kelly, Ace Ramirez, Aditi Kumar, Camilo Caridad Pineda, Mars, Mayira Batista, Zed Dally

How to Die a Green Death

Caylin Ellowitz, Niko Sonnberger, Marianna Varviani

Fashion for the Anthropocene

Abigail Tate, Jessica Prasertsri, Ashley Guo, Gypsy Rose, Saira Kaur

Green Conversion

Caylin Ellowitz, Jeff Leavitt, Autumn Palen, Jordan Thomas, Liv Mai, Tajzon James

Your Body Is Their Offering

Tsering Say, Kemal Çilengir, Gypsy Rose, Lawrence Lanoff

Walking Backwards

Kythe Heller, Maranda Stelly, Jessie Lee Thorne, Taylor Unwin

Where Many Worlds Can Fit

Rodrigo Cáceres, Tyler Hubby

Paleozoic Plate Tectonics

Katy Gurin, Marizó Siller, Charissa Kroeger, Melanie Au-Yeung, Sara D

Escaping the White Cube

Jeff Mark Leavitt, Caroline Huntley Coxe, Lauren Lakin, Kyla Carter, Jack X Proctor

featured fine artist

Ines Katamso