Real Review 15 confronts the crisis of representation — political, cultural, and moral — through the lens of a world in which the symbolic architecture of “human rights” and “the international community” has been exposed as hollow.
About This Book
Themed around the “Phantom of Liberty,” this issue of Real Review takes the collapse of liberal consensus as its editorial premise. The violence in Gaza becomes the opening provocation: not the images themselves, but their absence — and what that absence reveals about the structures of meaning we have collectively agreed to maintain. Edited by Jack Self, the issue moves across cultural theory, political critique, and everyday life with the publication’s characteristic range. Contributors include cultural theorist Shumon Basar on colonial modernity, Amnesty International on the occupation of water, and Piet Oudolf in conversation with Self on gardens. The result is a critical cultural review that takes the current mood seriously, without offering false resolution.
Key Features
- 104 pages of essays, interviews, reviews, and cultural criticism
- Edited by Jack Self; contributors include Shumon Basar, Piet Oudolf, Sham Jaff, Elias Tamer, Amber Husain, Can Sun, Lea Moreau, Maddy Weavers, Thea McLachlan, POSTPOSTPOST, Decentralized Agency, and Deep
- Published by Real Review, ISBN: 9781838493431
What You'll Discover
- Shumon Basar in interview on the unwinding of colonial modernity and the crisis of liberal political symbols
- Amnesty International’s review of the occupation of water as an instrument of power — criticism operating through the magazine’s own review format
- Piet Oudolf in conversation with Jack Self on the garden as a space of thought and presence, counterpointing the issue’s political urgency
- POSTPOSTPOST on whether jokes can bring down governments — satire and its limits as a form of political agency
About the Author
Jack Self is the editor of Real Review, a London-based publication that applies the review format to politics, culture, and everyday life. Self is also a practising architect and writer whose work consistently interrogates the relationship between built space and political economy.
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 104
- Dimensions: 260 × 115 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781838493431
- Publisher: Real Review
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects, designers, and cultural critics interested in the politics of representation, the collapse of liberal institutions, and critical writing that moves fluidly between the geopolitical and the everyday.