Issue 2, February 2020

I remember August 2010 as being hot. From a shabby co-working office in Oxford, Imperica silently eked out.

It was something that I had wanted to do for around 15 years: a blog, a magazine, a whatever full of interesting things that would come out of the white heat - and white light - caused by a fusion of arts and technology.

Over the years, that idea has become increasingly mainstream as publications both bigger and smaller than ours have embraced the intersection of these topics - alongside ad agencies, brands, newspapers, and pretty much everyone else.

We never wanted to report on these topics for the sake of reporting on them, however. Saying “Isn‘t this brilliant?“ might be great for our readership numbers and Twitter follower counts, but it‘s a rather vapid and cheap means of reporting. I always wanted us to be critical, insightful, and to have a fucking opinion at the expense of popularity.

Seven (!!) years later, the first real issue of Imperica Magazine spits out. It was something which we were very proud of - we had held some great events in earlier years but this was the first Actual Thing That You Can Buy.

Proof of our continued belief in taking our time is in front of you right now. I‘d like to say that this issue, issue 2, has been three years in the making, but that‘s not true. It has taken me over two and a half years to get my shit together to consider publishing an issue 2, and a much shorter amount of time for writers and artists to contribute.

We put a call for writers out late last year which was considerably amplified by Sian Meades-Williams and her newsletter for freelance writers. I‘d like to personally thank Sian for doing that, as it has brought a host of new voices into issue 2.

Eleanor will introduce the wild world of Yahoo Japan. Hilarious, brilliant writers like Siân Docksey and Chloé Whitmore will be talking about how, why, and whether we should be technologically-enhancing our physical and mental selves. Sarah Kante and William Park cover(anti-) “establishment thinking“ in their thoughtful and considered pieces. There‘s a phenomenal, detailed piece from Mira Fox about being young and Jewish in contemporary America.  

There‘s so much more. Tom, Simon, Sam, Dan, Rosa. So much more.

This issue‘s cover is incredible; I hope that you agree. I stood back, looked at it, and almost cried. The work is by a genuinely unique, talented, and extraordinary young artist called Ambie Drew. We interview Ambie in this magazine, and are delighted to bring her work and thoughts to you in issue 2. We‘re going to publish issue 3 much sooner than in three years.

Paul