TIGER PICASSO PRE-APOCALYPTIC MUSINGS

TIGER PICASSO PRE-APOCALYPTIC MUSINGS

Tyler Tilley aka Tiger Picasso is a painter based in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Born in Canada, the 40 year old has been blessing socials with his contemporary social commentary paintings. In his “pre- apocalyptic” paintings his humorous take on contemporary celebrities...
NARDUCCI RELEASES THE ENIGMATIC DARKNESS TO LIGHT EP

NARDUCCI RELEASES THE ENIGMATIC DARKNESS TO LIGHT EP

In our best New York Italian mafia voice-Narducci is “a friend of ours”. itchysilk has held a long and absolute admiration of Narducci the brilliant producer and saxophonist. Last time we touched base with Narducci was in 2020 with his astral like project Ancient...
THE PUPPET PARADE AND THE MAN OF PEACE (PART 2)

THE PUPPET PARADE AND THE MAN OF PEACE (PART 2)

In the second of his five part series of features, our new writer Matt (a war veteran) continues the story of the Puppet Parade-it’s a cerebral dance as our protagonists takes us deeper into this weird and wonderful moment-just where is he taking us? You cannot bring...
THE PUPPET PARADE AND THE MAN OF PEACE

THE PUPPET PARADE AND THE MAN OF PEACE

In his second article for #itchysilk, Matt Jones, Canadian veteran and born-again bohemian, brings the first of a five part series. In it he is recruited by a troupe of artists in the town of Ouzouer-sur-Trézée, South of Paris, to carry an enormous puppet in the...
SATCH HOYT-AFRO-SONIC MAPPING

SATCH HOYT-AFRO-SONIC MAPPING

TO READ THE FULL STORY SUBSCRIBE In this rather intriguing interview, the artistic polymath Satch Hoyt discusses his latest work Afro-Sonic Mappings. It’s a deep dive into understanding Black history, present and indeed future through the musical histories of ‘Black...
STREGA NONA IS OFFENSIVE AS FUCK

STREGA NONA IS OFFENSIVE AS FUCK

In her next piece for #itchysilk, Semtex goes in like the proverbial charging bull on Italian stereotypes. Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola is the catalyst for her ire. Through the lens of this children’s book, Semtex highlights that, in many...
THE BODY AS A NON-ARTIFICIAL MACHINE

THE BODY AS A NON-ARTIFICIAL MACHINE

In her first piece for #itchysilk lecturer and writer Ashby Solano brings a most profound discussion-what is this thing called ‘humanity’. It’s a question we have pondered for thousands of years. While we have brought a plethora of suggestions from some of the great...
DYSMORPHIA

DYSMORPHIA

In her second piece JOY (our Nigerian poet) details our on-going obsession with the body beautiful and the impact it has on the young and old. **** Stop staring at me like that, I see it in your eyes you don’t like how my shoulders are built, My back is hunched and my...
LETTER FROM A PISSED OFF VETERAN

LETTER FROM A PISSED OFF VETERAN

In his first article for #itchysilk, Matt Jones shifts our perpetual anxious gaze from the Ukraine (if only for a brief second) to our liberty squashing (perhaps man-made) covid virus.   Dear Freedom Convoy, I know you’re probably feeling a little abandoned right now...
JERMISIDE & THE EXPERT DROP NEW ALBUM-THE OVERVIEW EFFECT

JERMISIDE & THE EXPERT DROP NEW ALBUM-THE OVERVIEW EFFECT

In the age of cross Atlantic projects The Overview Effect is an awesome album. The brainchild of Atlanta emcee Jermiside and Dublin based  producer The Expert it’s a concept album. The duo run full pelt into 1960’s psychedelia while poignant bars galore delve (at...
A LETTER TO CUPID

A LETTER TO CUPID

In something a bit different, poet JOY (based in Nigeria) blesses us with some poetry. In this first installment, JOY has been shot (with pin-point accuracy) by that damn rascal Cupid-my oh my. I  haven’t even gotten over the fact that your lack of archery...
“CAN I KEEP YOU?” “YOU CAN’T AFFORD ME”

“CAN I KEEP YOU?” “YOU CAN’T AFFORD ME”

If you have been a fan of itchysilk, you will know a while back we had a writer Semtex who would ignite our synapses with her rather incendiary words. Well she is back. How long she is with us we do not know but for now Semtex brings her own inimitable view on life-we...
EROTICA PLUSH-CATHOLICS LOVE LUST TOO

EROTICA PLUSH-CATHOLICS LOVE LUST TOO

As a platform, #itchysilk aims to inform, and create discourse on areas deemed challenging or taboo.It is far from a discourse about right or wrong. Rather, presenting as many thoughts, and opinions to help the reader decide. Isa Luzuriaga aka Erotica Plush, currently...
BETTINA PITTALUGA-CONSIDERATE PHOTOGRAPHY

BETTINA PITTALUGA-CONSIDERATE PHOTOGRAPHY

At #itchysilk we were taken by the French-Uruguayan photographer Bettina Pittaluga and her honest “considerate” photography. It was an image capturing the love between two black women that caught us; it was a delicate image of ‘love’-nothing more, nothing less....
ANGELIKA KOLLIN-WHAT IT IS TO BE A WOMAN

ANGELIKA KOLLIN-WHAT IT IS TO BE A WOMAN

While our interview with Tampa based photographer, Angelika Kollin is our first for 2022, we decided to delve once again into the theme of catharsis and healing. Healing (on a wider scale) is particularly relevant as we go two years with the global upheaval. Like any...
GLORIJA LIZDE-EXPLORING THE PRE-DETERMINED

GLORIJA LIZDE-EXPLORING THE PRE-DETERMINED

Born in 1991 Croatia, freelance photographer Glorija Lizde brings images of intimate depth in her striking personal photography series. We were particularly taken by her images F20.5 exploring the impact (as it were) of her father’s schizophrenia. In many ways the...
MERYL MEISLER-BEHOLDING SUCCESS

MERYL MEISLER-BEHOLDING SUCCESS

Meryl Meisler- an interesting lady. Hopefully she will not take this badly, but you just want her to be your mum, aunt or just someone in your family. She emits this maternal warmth: It’s like a duvet on a cold night with a mug of hot chocolate. More importantly she...
BILL SHAPIRO-A LIFE DURING AND AFTER LIFE

BILL SHAPIRO-A LIFE DURING AND AFTER LIFE

“But why do you want to interview me, I am main-stream”? Bill Shapiro the last editor of the famed LIFE magazine states with genuine confusion. For #itchysilk we found it a surprising question. Why wouldn’t we interview someone who was at the helm of a magazine that...
ESWATINI-IS IT TIME FOR A REVOLUTION?

ESWATINI-IS IT TIME FOR A REVOLUTION?

A little while back an #itchysilk writer wrote a piece regarding the unrest in Nigeria fuelled by an angry ‘youth’. In a similar vein eSwatini and its youth are voicing the need for change while their absolute monarch clings to power with a vice like grip. Let’s not...
JUSTYNA NERYNG-HAIRY WOMEN (THE LAST TABOO)?

JUSTYNA NERYNG-HAIRY WOMEN (THE LAST TABOO)?

Justyna Neryng and her latest project, Hairy Women requires one to question: just when did it become the ‘norm’ that women should be hairless? Glossy ads, fashion, social media, film and tv propagate (by and large) the hairless body beautiful woman. While in porn the...
CHEMA CONTRERAS-MEXICO A CONDUIT FOR CREATIVITY

CHEMA CONTRERAS-MEXICO A CONDUIT FOR CREATIVITY

In a third instalment (as it were) #itchysilk talks to another creative from Mexico, Chema Contreras. Like our past Mexican creatives, Edgar Campoy and Ilan Derech, Chema Contreras identifies Mexico as a powerful conduit for his creativity. Indeed it is his love for...
FREE FROM THE NIGERIAN FLAG

FREE FROM THE NIGERIAN FLAG

In his latest piece our writer Ebenezer lays blame for the lack of progress in Nigerian culture at the steps of ‘tradition’. Shackled by the formality of ‘tradition’ (ergo those in power) Ebenezer argues the opportunity for change will continue to be curtailed. After...
NATTY WYLAH-“FUCK OFF WITH YOUR LABELS”

NATTY WYLAH-“FUCK OFF WITH YOUR LABELS”

With a great deal of pleasure, we checked out the Natty Wylah ep BRUCE sent to us courtesy of our friends at Rap and Soul Promotions. What a stomping eleven track project full of brooding atmospheric energy and lyrically profound bars tighter than that friend who...
AMBROISE TEZENAS-VISUAL TREATS FROM A MONOMANIAC

AMBROISE TEZENAS-VISUAL TREATS FROM A MONOMANIAC

As a teenager Ambroise Tezenas was interested in photography purely as an art and a vessel to “express” and “create something”. A self-confessed “monomaniac” it was only in his later years that photography became a career. After successfully working for editorials it...
#INTOTHECUTTINGROOM WITH-CAT PEOPLE (1982)

#INTOTHECUTTINGROOM WITH-CAT PEOPLE (1982)

In this #intothecuttingroom, #itchysilk writer Alessia looks at the erotic horror film Cat People. Written by the excellent director and screen writer, Paul Schrader who wrote the classic Taxi Driver (1976), Cat People centres around themes of zoomorphomism and...
JUST A HOLOGRAM IN YOUR HEAD

JUST A HOLOGRAM IN YOUR HEAD

In the Fugitive Diaries, Jamika Ajalon, brings devisive opinion (for some) and discusses her experiences over the last two decades, as a queer WOC expat in Europe. From the year of President Obama’s election, to the present, when a politically stoked xenophobia...
ANDREW GOLD-EXORCISMS AND FREEING YOUNG MINDS?

ANDREW GOLD-EXORCISMS AND FREEING YOUNG MINDS?

In this #itchysilkLIVE we talk to the Argentinian based 29-year old film-maker Andrew Gold about his documentary-Exorcism: The Battle For Young Minds. In truth evoking that explorative inquisitive ease of one Louis Theroux, Andrew Gold casts his gaze on the...
MARC H MILLER-EPHEMERA AND NEW YORK DOWNTOWN ART

MARC H MILLER-EPHEMERA AND NEW YORK DOWNTOWN ART

Marc H Miller writer, curator and ephemera collector has been an integral name within the New York art scene since the early 70’s. Charting the rise of names like Andy Warhol right through to Mapplethorpe, he witnessed in all its visceral vibrancy a period that...
APHRA BEHN-GUERRILLA GIRLS WARFARE

APHRA BEHN-GUERRILLA GIRLS WARFARE

Recently, #itchysilk writer Semtex spoke to Aphra Behn a former member of the original feminist group Guerrilla Girls. Before Pussy Riot (circa 2011) entered the feminist affray with their punk rock-fuelled sound, Aphra Behn was spearheading a voice for activism and...
ALUNE WADE-BRINGING AFRICAN FAST FOOD

ALUNE WADE-BRINGING AFRICAN FAST FOOD

Alune Wade is a bassist, singer and composer originally from Dakar bringing a sound that can be positioned within ‘high life’ come afro jazz sounds. Comparisons to the great Fela Kuti when any African artist brings that high life jazz sound are hard to resist. While...
THE GLOOMIES-HYPNOTIC RETRO FLUSHES WITH SOME ROMANCE

THE GLOOMIES-HYPNOTIC RETRO FLUSHES WITH SOME ROMANCE

In all honesty we have been a bit hooked on the debut album released on the Thrill Me label from the New York based duo The Gloomies. It all started with an innocent email asking us if we might be interested in pushing the sound of Andy and Chris on #itchysilk. After...
#INTOTHEDARKROOM WITH WALKER EVANS

#INTOTHEDARKROOM WITH WALKER EVANS

IntoTheDarkroom sees Alessia Scacchi take in the excellence of the American photographer Walker Evans (1903-1975). Her Alessia looks at that most contentious and amorphus concept/idea-The American Dream through Walker Evans’ famous image of an American gas station. In...
ANYA OLEKSIUK-THE PSYCHONAUT AND PSYCHEDELIA

ANYA OLEKSIUK-THE PSYCHONAUT AND PSYCHEDELIA

After her own personal experiences with psychedelics, 34-year old Anya Oleksiuk has embarked on a mammoth film project to bring the good news about psychedelics. Here in the West while views are changing, psychedelic’s association with those of a deviant persuasion...
FROM TOKYO WITH LOVE: THE DIARIES – 01

FROM TOKYO WITH LOVE: THE DIARIES – 01

From the Tokyo Diaries aka #FromTokyoWithLove, deputy editor Alice Preat writes her first entry. In this first of a number of entries she dives headlong into Japan and the wonderfully diverse and intriguing Tokyo. In that exploration she evidently falls in love with...
INTOTHEVAULTS WITH PROPAGANDA

INTOTHEVAULTS WITH PROPAGANDA

#IntoTheVaults and our writer Marco Mini takes the helm and steps into synth heavy expressionism with the 80’s group Propaganda. In this rather sterling feature Marco looks at the German based synth pop band and their one and only album. In his discussion he looks at...
A NIGHT WITH ANGELIQUE KIDJO

A NIGHT WITH ANGELIQUE KIDJO

#itchysilk asked our London based journalist repmes to step-out from behind the laptop and have a night out to sample the brilliance of Angelique Kidjo. It was about witnessing the Nigerian born artist in all her live glory at the Royal Festival Hall where she...
ANNA BRESOLI-NUDITY LEADING TO DEEPER COMMUNICATION

ANNA BRESOLI-NUDITY LEADING TO DEEPER COMMUNICATION

Nudity, vulnerability and isolation are themes ever present in the work of 39-year old Spanish photographer Anna Bresoli. Indeed, in many ways nudity is ‘us’ as humans in our pure state. Ideas of vulnerability evidently come to the fore but maybe that’s only because...
BARBARA DANIELS-MASS PRODUCTION OF ANTHROPOMORPHISM

BARBARA DANIELS-MASS PRODUCTION OF ANTHROPOMORPHISM

Born in Galway Ireland, the anthropomorphic images by Barbara Daniels  forces us to investigate our relationship with animals. In her black and white pen and ink drawings, roles are reversed and there is a massive power shift. Animals are suddenly clubbing young...
GENDERCIDAL: IN APPRECIATION OF THE FUCKBOY

GENDERCIDAL: IN APPRECIATION OF THE FUCKBOY

Though Semtex despises the fuckboy and all he stands for like any last vestige of the romantic, she can also appreciate his purpose in the world. Like a mosquito or a fly, he is both utterly annoying yet somehow utterly essential to the circle of sexual life. **** It...
MADISON WASHINGTON-BAYTRIFIED FEAT JTOTHEC

MADISON WASHINGTON-BAYTRIFIED FEAT JTOTHEC

A little while back we featured the mercurial outfit Madison Washington. At the time they had released their rather tidy album Code Switching. In this juncture we briefly catch up with the vibes of thatmanmonkz (producer) and Malik Crumpler (rapper/writer) on their...
INTO THE VAULTS WITH-LARRY HEARD: INTRODUCTION

INTO THE VAULTS WITH-LARRY HEARD: INTRODUCTION

Our writer Marco takes control of this #IntoTheVaults and looks at the talent of Larry Heard aka Mr Fingers. Unfortunately the talents of the Chicago house producer have been over shadowed (to an extent) by other more well known names from the scene. But that said...
THE LONGEST LINE IN BERLIN (EPISODE 2)

THE LONGEST LINE IN BERLIN (EPISODE 2)

In the second installment of Fahrten Auf Der Autobahn, Frederic our narrator takes us deep into the notorious club Berghain where nights are charged with lines of coke, sex and freedom. While the come down from that hedonism is not far behind-Frederic ultimately finds...
GANGSTER RAP-HEGEMONY CIRCA 1980 PART 3

GANGSTER RAP-HEGEMONY CIRCA 1980 PART 3

In the last of his three part exploration of gangster rap, #itchysilk writer Malik Crumpler delves further into the wormhole that is gangsta rap and brings us up to the times with names like, Cardi B. Indeed as she rises through the ranks to rap royalty we have to ask...
DURAN LEVISON-35mm EXPLORATIONS OF HONG KONG

DURAN LEVISON-35mm EXPLORATIONS OF HONG KONG

Using his 35mm film camera, South African photographer, Duran Levison takes things back to the basics of photography.  At 29-year Duran Levison has forged a name with popular publications hankering for his fashion/documentary images. His commissioned work evidently...
DARK RABBAN-EMBRACING MISERABILISM

DARK RABBAN-EMBRACING MISERABILISM

Here at #itchysilk the 26 year-old photographer Dark Rabban intrigued us with his bleak images. Revelling in grainy black and white images and the occasional flirtation with splashes of colour, Dark Rabban reveals the dark and at times uncomfortable recesses. For us...
HARRY SHOTTA AND JUMPIN JACK FROST-LIQUID AND BARS VOL 1

HARRY SHOTTA AND JUMPIN JACK FROST-LIQUID AND BARS VOL 1

If you are new to jungle/drum and bass, Harry Shotta aka ‘work engine’ is the emcees’ emcee part of the legendary SASASAS crew and sparring partner with the legend Skibbadee. While the legends’ legend Jumpin Jack Frost continues to blaze a trail over three decades in...
KAY YOUNG IMAGINES A BIT OF BLUE NOTE

KAY YOUNG IMAGINES A BIT OF BLUE NOTE

Music is notoriously fickle and unpredictable. Even great singers or musicians do not always make it. Some disappear into the musical ether of “wonder why they did not make it?” Interestingly one of our writers interview the brilliant singer Kay Young from the UK for...
WHEN FRIENDSHIP TURNS INTO A HOSTAGE SITUATION

WHEN FRIENDSHIP TURNS INTO A HOSTAGE SITUATION

Semtex goes off on the concept of friendship and how it can often be more trouble than it’s worth, especially when it comes to maintaining a relationship with somebody you’ve known most of your life. And many decide to continue to put up with such a person’s...