ᓚᘏᗢ xi ( main ig | youtube | pinterest )

slowly but surely building a platform for herself is art student xi. her work is avant-garde and explores womanhood and sexuality in an intimate, sometimes macabre, fashion. and speaking of fashion! xi's distinctive and eclectic style is influenced by vivienne westwood and the characters of the ai yazawa manga nana, in which one of the main characters shares xi's affinity with the british designer. if you want to see more of her fashion taste you can check out her recent paris haul!

another thing that inspires xi are the philosophies surrounding women, notably their bodies. fascinated by the historical comparisons between women and fertile, digestible organic matter in art (pomegranates, in particular), xi's methods and work draw acute focus on different areas of the body, her abstract interpretations of the power they hold and the sensations she ties with them. a great introduction to her artwork is her video displaying her gcse art projects.

being able to read her ideas and see her work progress is inspiring for me as another young creative!! the process behind her work has provoked a profound way of thinking in myself, which i am grateful for as i'm always looking to explore new perceptions of themes i find present in my own life as well as the lives of others that aren't discussed with the openness they deserve.

ᓚᘏᗢ dakota warren ( ig | youtube )

dakota's debut book on sun swallowing (available here!!) is a collection of poetry and prose about girlhood and gore and the devil and sex and a kind of existentialism that is both entirely nihilistic and wholly hedonistic. it's the first book i've ever written in and annotated and it was a great book for me to start with. dakota is fond of the idea of chaos and pure, unfiltered self-expression. the idea of indulging in your self. it's an accumulation of hair ribbons, religious imagery, love's many hues, the trials and tribulations of relationships all glazed in the blood of pomegranates.

"she has quickly cultivated an online presence that is that of a true artist: giving her followers small glimpses into her life but still maintaining an air of allure and mystery around herself." — kaiya shunyata in dakota warren is your new favourite poet.

ᓚᘏᗢ ethel cain ( @mothercain )

gritty and hazy and elegant. ethel makes the perfect music for running to nowhere in particular. you have energy and pain but you don't know where to put it? ethel cain. dealing with fractured relationships? ethel cain.

released a week ago today is her song american teenager. the southern gothic aesthetics of ethel's music and the nostalgia in the lyrics are paired with an audio that elicits the same emotions of teenhood — a warm-coloured memory for some and a fuzzy reality that is hard to decode for many.

ᓚᘏᗢ mitski's stay soft and working for the knife

blood, sexuality and femininity. y'know the triangle that shows how fires need three things to stay lit? well these three things are the triad of themes found in my favourite media texts. mitski's work, to me, is like a museum that doubles as a theatre but if you push down the handle of one of the seats it lowers into a library. she's a storyteller who isn't afraid to show her humanity.

working for the knife is a cynical tale about aging and persona. it's about "being confronted with a world that doesn’t seem to recognize your humanity, and seeing no way out of it." mitski writes of escaping confined identities that you didn't forge for yourself and putting energy you don't have in places you don't want to go.

stay soft was written about "hurt people finding each other, and using sex to make sense of their pain." while being dark and personal, the sound is grungy with an "inviting dance beat." the music video is aggressive and a little gory — a colourful, abstract visual display of the song.

ᓚᘏᗢ andrea arnold's fish tank (2009)

making your way through life alone can be difficult, but for 15 year old mia, it's the only option. her neglectful mother then meets conor o'reilly. this film hurt but it is one of the most visually stunning and powerful films i've ever seen. it's one of the most accurate insights into lower class teen life in britain, particularly into the life of teen girls. fish tank is equal parts beautiful and disturbing. and i think everyone should watch this film.

"encompasses the rage, confusion, horniness, and passion of being a teenager. this film is uncomfortable, gross, and angry yet manages to become one of the rawest coming of age films i've ever seen." — holli on letterboxd.

Entropy, Dakota Warren.