Dear Shaded Viewers, Impetus, motivation and relentlessness are the words that instantly come to mind, as I peruse the new Double Magazine (# 28 – F/W 2014). William Wordsworth’s quote on the cover—“to begin, begin”—effectively captures the unifying force behind this volume: deciding to take a chance at life and seizing our innermost yearnings. In editor-in-chief Fabrice Paineau’s words, it is “To rediscover that sensation, that fatal—or fetal—opportunity of being reborn among equals. To proclaim a small victory, in first league with one’s small or grand ambitions.” These pages are filled with that desire to achieve, no matter at what stage of life one is, for we can always have a fresh new start.
The “French Kiss” series of photographies by Kira Bunse, spread out throughout the magazine, hints at adolescent love and sexual awakening. This radiant coming of age acts as an enlightening force that is directly related to assuming one’s own identity and thus becoming what one is destined to be. In the third image of this series, sunbeams manage to come into the frame—passing in between the two lovers who tenderly embrace—suggesting a truth that erodes through physicality.
Paineau’s article about Perfume Boy, the Seattle musician responsible for songs like “You won’t B there” and the recent “Queen,” explores the themes of gender identity and genre exploration through the artist’s experience. These are concepts that are of course also associated with personal growth and having the valour to face the world in order to be true to oneself and what one aspires to accomplish.
Something that gives a hopeful note to this assortment is Zo
