Cool Hunting

Eclectic, crazy and refreshing, Kaiserin Magazine should be on everyone's required summer reading list. Founded in 2006 by Arnaud-Pierre Fourtané and Didier Fitan, this French-English bilingual biannual calls itself "a magazine for boys with problems and all the girls who like them." It features the work of both established and emerging artists, photographers, authors, designers and illustrators who address homosexuality in their work.

The second issue—called the Ecstasy Collective (or L'Extase Collective for our baguette-wielding friends)—is out now and features diverse content including a hysterical shower orgy photographed in the basement of the Warhol Museum by Bruce LaBruce (pictured below right), black and white sketches of organic and fluid forms by Matthieu Levet, and a series of photographic portraits of ex-lovers by Nicolas Wagner. My favorite feature from Issue 02 is "Voisinage/Neighborhood", the series of ghostly photographs by Christian Siekmeier of different living spaces around where he grew up with childhood crushes posing inside. (Pictured below left.)

The Kaiserin website has additional content under their Galleries section: music, videos, and artwork that complement the print version. Issue 02 is available worldwide at select retailers or from their online shop.

by Andrew Tilbury