In recent years, a young and dynamic scene has emerged dedicated to so-called queer tattooing. This particular community has emerged out of a desire to break with hierarchies and patriarchal structures. In their work, many tattoo artists liberate themselves from heteronormative and capitalist ideals of beauty to experiment outside the mainstream and develop their own individual styles and techniques. Their designs are a testament to a uniquely creative sense of queer iconography. ⁠ ⁠ This book is the first comprehensive introduction to this vibrant and diverse queer tattoo community. It introduces 50 international tattoo artists through in-depth portraits, texts and photo spreads.⁠ Buy

In this month’s instalment of our Surprise Subscription, we are super excited to present the new issue of one of our all-time favourites - the fantastic Record Culture Magazine! Karl Henkell, editor-in-chief of Record, thought of something special for us: a curated playlist to go along with this issue. Take a listen while you read our review! Record, published twice a year, takes a deceptively simple format - long-form interviews accompanied by photos - and elevates it by the quality and integrity of its contributors. The magazine’s mission is to shine a light on the people intrinsic to niche music communities around the world, and it delivers every time. More

Chris Kontos, editor-in-chief of Kennedy, has never been to New York, and yet the latest issue of Kennedy is dedicated to the city that never sleeps. "Even though I know more than a few things about New York, I resemble someone who has an unhealthy obsession over a person they have never met whereby everything they think about them is inevitably romanticised." And that's exactly how he got us. New York has always captured our imagination, and one of us has even had flights that, for other reasons, were never taken. So much is said and written about New York, it is the backdrop or the main character in so many films, that it has become its own myth. And since this projection is as much a part of New York as reality, you will find both in this issue of Kennedy. So you can travel in mind and feed your own imagination of the Big Apple, as Chris Kontos always does: "I was reluctant to visit NY for many years in case the myth of the city I had created crumbled like a sandcastle."⁠ Buy

The fact that our future doesn't look that bright when we keep business as usual is frankly nothing new. Ollie Hunter's sustainable cook book 30 Easy Ways to Join the Food Revolution may doesn't have the one and only solution but it is a beginning to change the way we produce, buy, utilise and eat organic and (!) affordable food. This book gives an insightful understanding of sustainable approaches with a zero waste policy shifting the perspective on growing veggies by your own, avoiding plastic and how to get the finest seasonal ingredients within 30 miles around you. Buy

Already the ruling class of the Victorian era was well aware of the priceless potential of the narrow strip where the land ends and merges into the sea. To ensure the safety and guarantee the jaunty leisure time of the working class, architect Eugenius Birch was the first one to construct a screw-pile system in which iron supports were driven deep into the seabed. Although most of these piers are no longer in use the unwavering fascination for the waterfronts remains. Setting sail into the deep blue unknown and infinite horizons Pleasure Garden's latest issue is the perfect supplement for all the landlubbers out there who decided to go with Balconia for this year's summer holiday. Get ready for a cool breeze, the taste of salt in your mouth and a highly seductive lazy leisure time with captivating stories swirling around the seaside. Buy

Openhouse is in the house! In this issue, they take time to reflect upon memories of a journey, share a weekend with Axel Vervoordt to discuss travel and collecting, spend a day at Casa das Canoas by Oscar Niemeyer just before his great-grandson and former partner take up its renovation, take residence at Casa Estudio Max Cetto with his grandson in Mexico City, and ending the inspiring Mexico trip at the home of sculptor and designer Pedro Reyes and Carla Fernández.⁠ Buy

Many people think of precision, dedication, and order when they think of Japan. And while this is not untrue there is far more magic to this place. Without going there yourself, it is virtually impossible to describe how Japan makes you feel - the tranquillity, the way the light changes when stepping from the street through curtains into the dimm lit wooden interior of an unagi restaurant, the way the trees in the woods swing and you do not know if it is because of the wind or the spirits, the little potted plant gardens along the houses of Tokyo and the old ladies that take care of them, the huge streets full of traffic that never seems loud, the myriads of alleyways the hold hidden soba restaurants... And there we are again, merely describing the given and not being able to transport how it feels. But luckily there is Kennedy Magazine. Chief Editor Chris Kontos was so emotionally taken by Japan that he promised himself to return once a year. And the rest of us he gifted with an issue of Kennedy dedicated entirely to Japan and its people. The sensitive photographs tell a story beyond words, enabling you to travel there in mind.⁠ Buy

"Your 20’s were mellow times with vague ideas for later when you’re older, and nothing seemed to worry you. Till the day the big 30 appeared at the horizon and scared the crap out of you."⁠ When you are almost thirty, you start wondering. Shouldn't I feel more grown up? Because once I hit thirty I must be grown up, right? Thirty sounds like having a career, inviting friends for dinner rather than going clubbing, planing children, knowing how to do taxes... But then you are almost thirty and you still feel far away from all of this. ⁠ Almost 30 is a mindset magazine that combines German and English texts about togetherness, dating, loneliness, and personal development - all the topics that really matter when you are almost thirty, because let's face it nobody really knows what that actually means – grown-up. So let's stop worrying about it.⁠ Buy

Grandmother India and Markus Weisbeck/Surface release ‘A Formal Film in Nine Episodes’ by artist Mario Pfeifer. It’s part of Pfeifer’s film project of the same name. A critical reader publication, the ensemble of the book describes the contemporary Asian Metropolis from anthropological perspectives on the Greater Mumbai. In beautiful aesthetics it revisits the film’s intercultural, political, urban and film-historic themes, unveiling issues of class, dramatic urban changes and attitudes toward the ritual and the symbolic. More than words on paper, the pages and overall production design of this book simulate the film itself, using English and Hindi, three different printing techniques, and original colouring realised with the help of local printers and manufacturers. Buy

The 1980s, a decade of decadence, innovation and social movements, the repercussions of which are still felt today. In the UK and the USA, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan respectively buckled down on redrafting neo-liberal economic policies, while the Soviet Union was brewing its own demise toward the fall of the Berlin wall. New prospects of political activism opened with the rise of feminism, environmentalism, queer and postcolonial politics. This book focuses on case studies portraying various stories, facsimiles, and images from various spheres of the 80s cultural mark. Some of the texts are translated to English for the first time. They talk about squatting, Black filmmaking, the rights movements, the radical democrats in Turkey, petitions, feminism in Spain, the birth of the gay scene in Slovenia, and, thoughts on how being called a lunatic should be seen as a compliment. Buy