editors' note
When we chose this theme, we couldn't separate bodies and sex. We saw limbs and sheets and muscles contracting, expanding; clothes dropping to the floor. We wanted dirty little secrets and shoulder biting and hair pulling. We wanted to take it slow and easy.
But we also wanted the grimy bits. The bloody knickers, hairy legs. We wanted imperfect bellies and that hot, musty scent after a long night. We wanted to keep the lights on, the windows open. We wanted all the grossness of the morning after and cleaning up afterwards. We wanted to see tendons and fingernails and we wanted to wake up on our own, stretching, our thighs clicking.
For 16 days across March, we'll be publishing short stories, poetry and essays alongside original art and photography on the theme BODY&SEX. For those of you who know us, we're doing things a little differently now. We're giving each piece its own space, so you don't have to rush to read 16 pieces of work all at once. We're all in a rush. We're all busy. But maybe not for five or 10 minutes, to read about bodies, sex, and what makes us human.
So this is just a short note to say thank you for being here. Thank you for supporting these artists and writers. We hope some of these pieces make you feel a little naughty.
We start with Hair by Samantha McCormick and art by Andrea Coates. We start with nonfiction, because the truth matters.
With love,
Annabelle, Carlotta and Caroline
Psst... listen to our Spotify playlist BODY&SEX while you read this issue,
with new songs chosen by our contributors
Cover art by Sandra de la Cruz
Sandra de la Cruz studied telecommunication engineering, but has always had a clear passion for drawing and the arts, that was instilled in her when she was still a child. She learnt how to express her emotions through art on her own. Two years ago she started to take her passion seriously as a way of making a living and something to strive for. Her other passion, poetry, brought her in contact with contemporary writers, for whom she made various covers and illustrations. This year, within other works, she has made exhibitions, collectively and also individually, in different showrooms and ‘concept stores’, always revealing a personal and intimate work. She has never put aside either the experimental side of her art with new techniques and themes, or her own personal projects.
