Eight visionary editorials from Cactus magazine
Every Thursday, we send out an email with an exclusive offer to a newly launched magazine on Sampler. Back in December, we featured Cactus magazine, an innovative title showcasing the most exciting photographers, designers, and stylists in fashion. Weighing one kilo, it is packed with editorial inspiration, so we’ve asked the Milan-based team to talk us through the defining shoots of the issue.
“We curate a magazine focused mainly on new visual artists dealing with contemporaneity, and we are continually looking for sharp and cutting-edge materials. Sheung Yiu’s still life is exactly what we are talking about — commonly used objects turned into absolute icons with such a charming simplicity.”
“We can’t imagine an issue without at least one street photoshoot. Oriol Llauradó’s inward-looking lens manages to make Kathmandu’s faraway experiences feel familiar. He’s like a contemporary Caravaggio who moves silently through hidden roads lighting up people leaping out from the corners. Llauradó grasps human nature with success.”
“After encountering Christto & Andrew’s work, we immediately understood their visual language and saw how it could fit the current fashion perfectly. Their abilities in casting and set-creating, displaying an untraditional Middle East, is something we really appreciate. Mix this with a label as avant-garde as Kenzo and we’ve got a far-out extravaganza.”
“Posh atmospheres and hysterical girls, what could be better? We love the 60s deeply, and since Matt Henry’s aesthetics embody contemporary glamour but are so bizarre at the same time, we thought he would provide a great example of full-throttled imagery. Matching this series with Christto & Andrew’s, it seemed like a dream come true for us.”
“Fashion editorials need to show something new every time, something original that lets the viewer imagine a fascinating story regardless of the clothes. Apparel should be a plus, and Timothy Schaumburg’s photographic mastery allowed us to play with settings and models humorously. His control of lights and framing impressed us.”
“So erotic and so detailed. This series provokes a sort of excitement, because of the desire to know more about it. Tomohisa Tobitsuka is able to create an intimate setting even if the shots picture private and provocative poses. The extraordinary intensity of girls’ eyes and lips catalyses the attention, leaving a sense of dissatisfaction if you look away.”
“Geert Goiris‘s series is as liberating and measured as it is alienating and suspended. Time’s absence comes to be the main protagonist, expanding forms and spaces endlessly. People and presences are shrouded in the white void of nonexistence. Grey brown backgrounds frame subjects as both motionless and lifeless, stimulating comparisons between the images.”
“Luc Meiranesio’s irony is greater every time we look at these unfocused sunbathing Adonises in all their manliness. We especially love the details, the way they are laying, the warm blue scenery, the brilliant white mat… His digital approach to the visuals is dominant and pressing, and is explicitly highlighted over all his different contributions inside the magazine.”
—
Keep up to date with the latest photography magazines and more – Sign up to Stack and we’ll send the best independent publishing to your door
