The Thousands

The first two issues of NZ based street culture magazine The New Order were wildly ambitious affairs, squeezing every hip name imaginable in between the covers from Ian Astbury to VisVim. The results were overwhelming and a little boring, akin to skim-reading a google search for ‘cool’.

The third issue is different. Weighing in at 300+ pages, it’s a hefty tome, but its content is focussed and considered. Featured artist Kostas Seremetis is the subject of an interview but also conducts his own with fascinating Belgrade-born photographer Boogie, as well as a three-way chat with rocker Jon Spencer and comic book artist Paul Pope.**On top of this is a feature on Kostas’ regular collaborator Shinsuki Takizana, with an accompanying photo spread on his iconic label Neighborhood. The effect is a rounded-out view of an artist, more illuminating and intriguing than a straight Q&A.

As well as the Kostas-affiliated articles, there are pieces on URSUS, Peter Sutherland, Banksy’s show in the Bristol Museum and much more. At times, I wish they’d poke a bit of fun at themselves and stop taking ‘street culture’ so damn seriously. But with The New Order, that seems to be the point.