MacGuffin No. 11: The Chain takes one of civilisation's most paradoxical objects — simultaneously adornment and instrument of bondage — and traces its contradictions across culture, history, fashion, protest, and power.
About This Book
Few objects carry the weight of contradiction that the chain does. Worn as jewellery by royals and rappers, deployed as a symbol of resistance by Baltic protestors and Cuban revolutionaries, and used as literal restraint on enslaved people throughout history, the chain resists easy categorisation. MacGuffin's eleventh issue assembles an eclectic roster of artists, photographers, writers, and thinkers to examine this object across its many registers: fashion and fetish, medieval warfare and modernist hyperlinks, punk provocation and caged wrestling. The result is an interdisciplinary investigation into material culture that is as visually compelling as it is intellectually serious — essential reading for designers and cultural historians alike.
Key Features
- 192 pages of commissioned photography, essays, and visual investigations into the cultural life of the chain
- Contributors include Inigo Laguda, Jacqueline de Jong, Harris Blondman, Scheltens & Abbenes, Olivia Ahmad, Rab Messina, Kai Lobjakas, and more
- Published by MacGuffin
What You'll Discover
- How the chain functions simultaneously as an intimate personal adornment — charms, chokers, scarves — and as the most potent symbol of slavery and subjugation
- The chain's role in political resistance, from Baltic protest movements to Cuban revolutionary iconography
- Cross-cultural readings linking medieval warriors to contemporary rappers, cycling skirts to crashed cars, and hyperlinks to haunted houses
- New commissioned work from an international cast of photographers and image-makers, including the studio Scheltens & Abbenes, known for their precise material investigations
About the Author
[Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 192
- Dimensions: 210 x 270 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 24058203
- Publisher: MacGuffin
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Designers, cultural theorists, fashion historians, and readers drawn to MacGuffin's trademark approach of unpacking everyday objects through an interdisciplinary lens.