Welcome to the fascinating E-1027, the modernist escape designed by Eileen Gray at the Côte d'Azur. No other house embodies architecture and design history, intimacy, shared creativity, and even toxic masculinity quite like E-1027.⁠ ⁠ The name E-1027 is a code created by Gray and her lover, Jean Badovici. The 'E' stands for Eileen, '10' for Jean, '2' for Badovici, and '7' for Gray. It was their way of showing their relationship as lovers. The flat-roofed modernist masterpiece is the built embodiment of that love, but shortly after its completion, the couple split. However, the end of their relationship was not the end of the story of this house.⁠ ⁠ Badovici was a close friend of Le Corbusier and invited him to the house on several occasions. One summer, Le Corbusier painted all over the flat white modernist walls, sometimes in the nude. The murals infuriated Gray, who saw them as outright vandalism. And many art historians agree and view Le Corbusier's actions as a demonstration of domination, akin to a dog marking its territory. It is believed that Le Corbusier was jealous of the masterpiece, especially because it was designed by a woman. The house became an obsession of his, he even tried to purchase it many times but failed. ⁠ ⁠ It's impossible to identify the exact individual contributions of Gray or Badovici to this iconic piece of architecture. But for years, it was believed that Badovici was the sole mastermind, and some even thought that Le Corbusier had designed the house. A woman clearly could have not created such an archetype of modernist architecture, so the believe. So this house, meant to be a lovers' hideaway, became a great example of misogyny in architecture and society.⁠ ⁠ Jürgen Beck’s photographs of the house in "Sun Breakers" capture the original concept of the house. Its intimacy, its expression of openness, its flexible structure to accommodate the rhythm of the days. He captures the overgrown paths that take him to the house, sun drenched walls and leafy shadows. Beck directs our eye to Gray's design that takes into consideration people’s emotional needs.⁠ ⁠ In the words of Eileen Gray, "Formulas are nothing; life is everything." ⁠ Buy

It is here! The Cyberfeminism Index!⁠ ⁠ In in this book, hackers, scholars, artists, and activists of all regions, races and sexual orientations consider how humans might reconstruct themselves by way of technology. It takes the name cyberfeminism as an umbrella, complicates it, and pushes it into plain sight.⁠ ⁠ Edited by designer, professor, and researcher Mindy Seu, it includes more than 700 short entries of radical techno-critical activism in a variety of media, including excerpts from academic articles and scholarly texts; descriptions of hackerspaces, digital rights activist groups, and bio-hacktivism; and depictions of feminist net art and new media art. Buy

The world today faces overwhelming environmental and social problems. To combat, change and overcome these challenges, collective action is necessary and inevitable. This has led to new forms of collective art and design practices: Artists collaborate with non-artists, make products for their local environment and take on multiple identities such as researcher, community activist, computer hacker or business consultant.⁠ ⁠ The book "Making Matters" by the fantastic publisher Onomatopee looks at art practices on all continents where the boundaries between art, design, research and activism are blurring or dissolving. ⁠ Buy

Climate change, political conflict, discrimination, displacement, and social justice - this new issue of Foam Talent addresses the pressing problems of our times and reminds us that photography has the capability to capture the unspeakable. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ 20 upcoming talents in photography look closely at both the world around us, and the one within — without shying away from discomfort or pain. Rather, they use the photographic medium to respond to, digest and navigate a world that continues to present new challenges and problematic structures.⁠⁠ Buy

This book by Simone de Beauvoir was deemed too intimate to release during her lifetime and then has been lost. Luckily it was found and published now so that we can indulge in this tender and at the same time revolutionary story.⁠ ⁠ The Inseparables is based on Beauvoir's childhood friendship with Élisabeth Lacoin even though the two main characters carry other names- Sylvie and André. The two girls, that meet at school, share for that time revolutionary and feminist thoughts. “They teach you in catechism to respect your body. So selling your body in marriage must be as bad as selling it on the street,” Andrée says. Sylvie is bored and intellectually lonely, so meeting this clever, irreverent girl changes her life. Sylvie falls in love with André's mind. But there is much that society will throw at Andrée to intimidate and flatten her, not least religion and the desire not to disappoint her controlling, conservative mother. Buy

Sara. Corpo e Mondo is the title of Dario Salamone's new book. Sara is also the name of the protagonist who exposes her body to the camera's gaze on a deserted beach in this photo series.⁠ ⁠ In the book's photographs, taken in just a few hours during a non-stop session, Sara enters into an effortless dialogue with the photographer. And because Sara's curves and the photos' unedited immediacy paint a counter-image to false ideals dictated by advertisements, this series of photographs is also a social and cultural critique. Sara's lightness invites a more positive body image that does not exclude bodies that do not fit into a certain image.⁠ Buy

The female body has not been owned by women for a long time. The way it is portrayed is dictated by advertising, the way it is viewed is dictated by the male gaze, what and how much of it should be seen is dictated by society and our nipples belong to Instagram and are locked behind little gif stickers. That's why this book is so refreshing. Body shows photographs of 46 women in their most natural form. Lotte van Raalte explores the female body with her camera without sexualising, without judging, without shaming, but with a loving eye for all shapes, ages and colours. The result is incredibly intimate and breathtaking. Time to reclaim our bodies and love them as they are! Buy

Until mid January the exhibition Masculinities - Liberation through Photography is shown at the Gropius Bau in Berlin. Having previously been presented at the Barbican in London, Berlin is the second city to have the pleasure of this celebrated exhibition, that explores how masculinity is experienced, performed, and codified in photography and film from the 1960s to the present. Given the plurality of subversive masculinities that have emerged since the 1960s and the resilience of certain forms of traditional ultra-male power this is an ambitious undertaking. The accompanying comprehensive publication is no less committed. From disrupting the archetype with found photographs of Taliban fighters holding softly hands surrounded by arrangements of flowers; to fatherhood with an incredible, unsettling piece by Anna Fox. Photographs of her mothers tidy cupboards filled with pink china and rose tinted glasses are juxtaposed with violent quotes from her father like “I’m going to tear your mother to shreds with an oyster knife”, Masculinities draws wide circles to prove its point, that what makes a man a man is more complex than even Aznavour could imagine in his groundbreaking song from 1972. This exhibition and book will make you think again about the meanings of maleness in a increasingly unsettling world where we experiencing the rise of more and more alt-right groups looking for a so called "strong man" as a leader. So let us take the word "liberation" in the title literally and free ourselves from the clichés and always the same images and realise that masculinity is a social construct!⁠ Buy

The questioning of gender roles, the creation of completely new self-concepts, punk music, feminist performances, theatrical installations, a cabinet of intimacy, rebellion, New Wave - a "creative-feminist" collective of 35 professional and amateur artists challenged Swiss society and the cultural establishment in Zurich during the turbulent 1970s and 1980s. This book examines the powerful cultural revolt that did not want to be interpreted but experienced. Buy

Activism and feminism seem to have become a catchword for any woman’s empowerment through the arts. This publication seeks to critically dissect the terms and reveal the diversity of practices and realities that it comprises. Presenting a range of critical insights, perspectives, and practices from artists, activists, and academics, it reflects on the role of feminist interventions in the field of contemporary art, the public sphere, and politics. In the process, it touches upon broader questions of cultural difference, history, class, economic standing, ecological issues, and sexual orientation, as well as the ways in which these intersect.⁠ Buy

In Morocco, the only acceptable sexual activity is between a woman and her husband. Where all forms of extra-marital sex, homosexuality and prostitution are not only socially frowned upon but also punishable by law, women appear to have two options: be a virgin or be a wife.⁠ The first work of non-fiction in English from the prize-winning and internationally bestselling author Leila Slimani gives voice to young Moroccan women who are grappling with a conservative Arab culture that at once condemns and commodifies sex. By telling their intimate stories, by breaking taboos, by letting us into their thoughts and struggles, these women do not just break the silence, they also show that their lives and their lust matters. Which makes this book political and a vibrant appeal for the universal freedom to be, to love and to desire. ⁠ Buy

"Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth." observed already Simone de Beauvoir.⁠ ⁠ Since then not much has changed. Caroline Criado Perez exposes the hidden ways in which women are forgotten, and the impact that it has on their health and lives, but also on the life of the whole society. She uncovers a bias that is often not systematic but happens because we are used to the default man. The man stands representative for humankind, the woman is the other. The consequences are devastating. Woman are 47% more likely to die in car accidents, because the car is designed for the male body and woman, most of the time, have to move their seat out of the ideal position. Women get medicine that is not proven to work for them and sometimes is doing more harm than good. Why? Because they are critically underrepresented (or not at all represented) in medical studies. Why? Because they are thought of being difficult and not consistent due to their menstrual cycle. So of course just test on men, since they are the neutral representative of all humans. What could go possibly wrong...⁠ "Invisible Woman" shows that even snow-clearing schedules can be bias and when fixed can save millions of dollars. But foremost it shows how the bias is deeply rooted in every field you can imagine. And even though this book will sometimes make you angry, it is most notably eye-opening. Buy