Isolarii, stylized as ISOLARII, is an avant-garde media company founded by Sebastian Clark.[1] Launched in September 2020, the company is known for its multimedia projects, international activity and unique palm-sized book format.[2]
History
The company was launched after Clark's 2014 experience employed at a smartphone factory in Dongguan, China and reading René Daumal’s allegorical adventure novel Mount Analogue, which he saw as “the anti-iPhone.” From their sending each other more and more books the next few years, the concept of Isolarii developed.[3]
In November 2020, Isolarii published F Letter: New Russian Feminist Poetry, which emerged as a symbol for anti-government protests in Russia.[4]
In 2021, Isolarii released Street Cop, a collaborative work by Robert Coover and Art Spiegelman. The release received acclaim from NPR, and was described by The New York Times as a "palm-sized lark."[5]
In 2022, "The War Diary of Yevgenia Belorusets" marked Isolarii's debut in digital reportage. Co-published with Der Spiegel, it was translated daily into various languages. It was adapted into a podcast episode for This American Life[6] and, on March 3, 2023, was cited by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz when announcing changes to Germany's military support for Ukraine. It was later published in print as part of the volume In The Face of War. As an afterword, photographer Nan Goldin officiated a marriage between artists Nikita Kadan and Anti Gonna.[7]
Critical response
Dominick Ammirati wrote in Artforum that “the press has succeeded at imbuing the book form with the psychophysical qualities of a mala, a rosary, kombolói, a smartphone—objects that you pick up and feel almost anxious letting go of.”[2]
Isolarii has been described by curator Hans Ulrich Obrist as an “ingenious book club.”[8]
In 2023, Isolarii faced criticism from former Fox News correspondent Tucker Carlson.[8]
Bibliography
- How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later by Philip K. Dick
- Charismatic Spirals by Will Alexander
- Under the Wings of the Valkyrie by Sjón
- A Book of My Own by Scholastique Mukasonga
- Ever Gaia by James Lovelock and Hans Ulrich Obrist
- In The Face of War: Ukraine 2022 by Yevgenia Belorusets, Nikita Kadan and Lesia Khomenko
- The Archipelago Conversations by Édouard Glissant and Hans Ulrich Obrist
- Modern Animal by Yevgenia Belorusets
- Street Cop by Robert Coover and Art Spiegelman
- Purple Perilla by Can Xue
- F Letter: New Russian Feminist Poetry, ed. Galina Rymbu, Eugene Ostashevsky, and Ainsley Morse
- Salmon: A Red Herring by Cooking Sections
References
- ^ Clavarino, Elena (April 2, 2022). "India Ennenga and Sebastian Clark: The duo sending pocket-size books — collaborations with artists and writers — to people around the world". Airmail News (142).
- ^ a b Ammirati, Domenick. "Domenick Ammirati on Isolarii". www.artforum.com.
- ^ Clavarino, Elena (April 2, 2022). "India Ennenga and Sebastian Clark: The duo sending pocket-size books — collaborations with artists and writers — to people around the world". Airmail News (142).
- ^ "Russian protest poetry and the rise of Galina Rymbu".
- ^ Park, Ed (October 8, 2021). "How Comics Responded to Our Locked-Down, Anxious Covid Lives". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "The Other Front Lines". This American Life. April 22, 2022.
- ^ "Regierungserklärung von Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz". Die Bundesregierung informiert | Startseite (in German). Retrieved 2023-03-06.
- ^ a b "Kunstnotizen von Hans Ulrich Obrist – Der geniale Buchclub". Berner Zeitung. 26 November 2020.