ESP ISSUE 2
THE GLITCH IN THE ART SYSTEM
April 2021

Issue 2 unpacks the notion of the ‘glitch’ in the art system. In reference to Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto (Verso, 2020), where Legacy Russell explores cyber feminism through the concept of a glitch: a mistake, a bug in the system to be embraced as a liberating force against systems of oppression—here we examine the current state of the art world. Issues of representation; the future of ownership; ongoing power imbalances... to understand how to tackle the changes that need to be made in the arts and beyond. 
Legacy Russell addresses the art world dilemma, Hans Ulrich Obrist interviews Marina Abramović and Todd Eckert on Mixed Reality, while Joseph Constable interviews Michael Xufu Huang and members of X Museum. Yang Wang and Zhenzhen Qi of zzyw reflect on the space between code and mystery. Jack Self, Keller Easterling, Counterspace, The Forest Curriculum, and Andria Hickey review the realities of physical and digital spaces. A comprehensive Q&A on the art market with 11 different artists, curators, sociologists, critics, and collectors, while Elena Zavelev observes the digitisation of the art market. Also featuring interviews with Olafur Eliasson and cognitive scientist/poet Pireeni Sundaralingam on re-humanising the planet, along with a conversation on the poetics of ecology with filmmaker Manthia Diawara. Complete with original illustrations proposing the merge of the virtual and physical by Rudy Guedj.
SOURCES from 18 people, 18 cities. These pages offer a glimpse into recent reads, music, films, and favourite art spaces from Christophe Chassol (Paris), Alice Riff (São Paulo), Turbo (Amman), Edmund Yeo (Kuala Lumpur), Sunny Dolat (Nairobi), Alva Noto (Berlin), Frida Orupabo (Oslo), Kwangho Lee (Seoul), Sofía Quirós Ubeda (San José), Maha Maamoun (Cairo), Femi Adeyemi (London), Theseus Chan (Singapore), Ram Ozeri (Jerusalem), Bárbara Sánchez-Kane (Mexico City), Naohiro Ukawa (Tokyo), Beth Wilkinson (Melbourne), Lin Zhipeng aka No.223 (Beijing), Billie Zangewa (Johannesburg).
ESSAYS—‘Reading Philosophy in Palestine’ from Adania Shibli, ‘Tiny Traumas’ from Christine Sun Kim, ‘The Graph and the Glitch’ from Experimental Jetset, ‘Look for Good News’ from Jacques Attali, ‘Searching for Universal Languages’ from Tony László.