David Uzochukwu’s speculative portraits reflect human identities. He is one of 75 artists invited to examine complex Afrodiasporic experiences.

Mónica Alcázar-Duarte exposes the derogatory stereotypes Mexican women are subjected to in real-world and online spaces in Second Nature.

Art is about storytelling, and we all tell stories. This issue of Aesthetica Magazine is dedicated to creatives who are weaving inspiring narratives.

For pathbreaking artist Nancy Holt, space and time were paramount to creation. A new book charts her creations, including the world-famous Sun Tunnels.

What psychoanalyst Carl Jung once wrote about dreams, painter James Jean actualises onto canvas – pushing the limits of genre and imagination.

Scarlett Hooft Graafland documents remote geographies in surreal, choreographed scenes – using embroidery to enhance the narrative.

Aesthetica highlights 10 gift ideas perfect for arts and culture lovers this season – including photobooks, magazines and creative experiences.

Dasha Pears is Helsinki-based artist using the instruments of surrealism, minimalism and colour to tell surprising visual stories with a twist.

Aziz + Cucher’s collaboration was sparked by the launch of digital imaging tools. 30 years on, a new show surveys their “post-photography” practice.

The Aesthetica Awards open for entries on 1 December, celebrating the best contemporary talent across art, photography, literature and film.

Joanne Coates and Heather Agyepong – winners of the Jerwood/Photowords Award – reflect on regional identities and the authentic self.

The 2022 edition of PhotoVogue Festival reflects on the ethics and impact of our exposure to images in the digital age, offering new models for the future.

Paper manufacturer Hahnemühle launches a series of environmental images – encouraging us to take a moment to reflect on the natural places we cherish.

Buildings inspired by metabolism. Surrealist objects. Lighting made from smartphones. These exhibitions are innovative, forward-thinking and surprising.

Do Ho Suh crafts large-scale fabric sculptures that recreate the places in which he has lived and worked; the results are bright, playful and deeply emotive.

This season’s new art book releases are wide-reaching in scope: honing in on family stories whilst looking at renowned art movements with fresh eyes.

A show at London’s NOW Gallery centres on the potential of satirical photography, asking questions about what it looks like, and what can it achieve.

Seattle Asian Art Museum foregrounds the work of contemporary Chinese artists, realised through both traditional and emerging materials and media.

Bai Liu is an artist, designer, illustrator and writer based in China whose multidisciplinary work is shown throughout the world. 馍  / Mo was shown at the London Design Festival in September. Why Do We Love Cats?  launched on VRChat in August.

A new book illustrates how densely populated urban centres “hold the key to our sustainable future on Earth,” using the city of London as a blueprint.

Sebastiaan Knot’s illusory geometries are created without any digital manipulation. Crisply folded sheets of card pop out from orange and purple walls.

“I felt I was looking at a great untold story of art-love in the UK today.” The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition returns with a diverse array of contemporary work.

Dusky pink clouds. Olive green skies. Cracked white walls and peeling paint. These are surreal dreamscapes by photographer Alizé Jireh.

In 2022, the sea takes on a new dimension: it is now a fragile ecosystem threatened by major ecological collapse. A new book chronicles art and the ocean.

We speak to Richard Mosse about his latest film, which depicts the destruction of the Amazon, asking us to look anew at environmental and social disaster.

Huxley-Parlour Gallery, London, provides an insight into Dora Maar’s early photographic practice, anticipating a later interest in the unconscious.

What makes a “good” portrait? The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2022 showcases more than 50 examples of contemporary portraiture.

Chris Killip is remembered as one of Britain’s most influential post-war documentarians, working across the north of England in the 1970s and 1980s.

This year’s Foam Talents “look closely at both the world around us, and the one within,” addressing pressing issues of our times through photography.

The idea of hinterlands – the land away from the coast or the banks of a river – is at the core of BALTIC’s show, using art to bring us closer to nature.

Colour-blocking has been a huge source of inspiration for artists and designers since the early 20th century. Here are four contemporary examples.

Paula Mahoney’s works are at once performative and surreal, drawing attention to the sense of loss and mourning that can be evoked by clothing.

An exhibition in Santa Monica highlights artists with diverse backgrounds – illustrating the central relationship between the humans and the land.

Since the late-1990s, Hannah Starkey has been dedicated to photographing women, exploring the ways they are, and have been depicted.

Here are five trailblazing contemporary portraitists to know from London’s fair: lens-based artists who explore ideas of identity, belonging and place.

On Earth, neon is rare, but across the universe, it is a commonly found cosmic element. Bruce Nauman has experimented with the medium for 50 years.

Chilean artist Cecilia Vicuña’s new ethereal Tate Turbine Hall installation is an elegy to disappearing traditions, environments and peoples.

“African fashion is the future.” London’s V&A surveys the “creativity, ingenuity and unstoppable global impact” of design from across the continent.

Ash Camas’ vivid images – taken in Canada, France, Sweden and beyond – encourage us to look at cities anew: cropping, repositioning and flattening them.

Glenn Lutz’s landmark publication comes from the desire to “create a work in which Black men came together to open up and share their experiences.”

During lockdown, London’s Museum of Youth Culture encouraged the public to delve through old shoeboxes, look in attics and flick through albums.

Margriet Smulders’ contemporary vanitas depict petals, berries and leaves floating on water – causing ripples and washes of colour to bleed and blend.

Mónica de Miranda explores the island as a visual metaphor for the wider Afrodiasporic experience alongside Europe’s complex colonialist histories.

Jason Bruges Studio is a pioneer in the field of interactivity, paving the way for a new genre of art and design. In this interview, he discusses collaborations with Tate, the Olympics and V&A.

Omar Torres’ images symbolise an attempt to reach equilibrium. Everyday objects are arranged in balancing acts, held on the brink of collapse.

Forensic Architecture comprises artists, lawyers, journalists, filmmakers and coders, harnessing design to uncover global human rights violations.

Sometimes we have that eureka moment ; we think about something in a completely new way. This issue foregrounds artists who play with form and subject.

Andoni Beristain’s bold still lifes inject a sense of narrative into the everyday, finding moments of comedy, satire and beauty within familiar items.

Nhu Xuan Hua’s images move beyond fashion editorials, transforming the body into something less individualistic – and much more sculptural.

Anna Devís and Daniel Rueda’s images redefine the conventions of structural photography whilst tapping into the pillars of architectural tourism.