Now & Again: Exquisite Corpse

When the first issue of Now & Again was published back in 2018, we had hoped to work with creators from various artistic specialisations for our future editions. Two years on, it has been incredibly fulfilling to witness this development through the new contributors we’ve spoken to and collaborated with, as well as the extensive range of indie publications we’ve come to know through this shared experience of loving magazines.

 

With two co-editors this time, we decided to experiment with our approach to developing new ideas beyond what had been done in the first two issues. Seeking to extend the possibilities of creative collaborations in print form, we altered the process of how we consolidated content by drawing inspiration from the Surrealist art exercise of the Exquisite Corpse.

 

In this edition of Now & Again, the starting point is a photo of a floating Crocs sandal, which leads to three separate strands, each comprising works by three contributors. Reinterpreting the classic Exquisite Corpse exercise in which participants work together to depict a human body by drawing separate sections in turns, every piece in this issue has been inspired by and made in response to the work before it. We examine how the flow of ideas develops, the diversity of individual perspectives, and what this could mean for the creative processes driving artistic practice. What are we influenced by when discussing certain topics? How do we ensure originality when referencing other people’s ideas? And whom do we serve when we create?

 

Through this issue, we hope that you can recognise the dynamic energy that comes with collaborations between individuals, and also reconsider conventional approaches to formulating ideas — an alternative way of viewing things, gaining inspiration or implementing ideas in projects could quite possibly be a springboard to new and invigorating discoveries.