UQ updates and events

Issue 13

Update

Introducing Unknown Quantities 13

#VALUE!

Charged by a world demanding perfection, UQ 13 explores the opposite: failure. We celebrate the "worthless," reclaiming value in the discordant, the unconventional, and the glitch. Asking what happens when we stop trying to "get it right," this issue critiques the rigid structures governing creativity. We have displaced value across both design and editorial to question established standards. #VALUE! is an anthology of shared experiments. It is a testament to the unpredictable creative energy unleashed when we dare to break, stumble, and gleefully fail.

Stay tuned for where to grab a physical copy; until then, explore the work in our online archive.

Issue 12

Update

Introducing Unknown Quantities 12

𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓯𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭

Two words that speak to us of absence and recovery. Here, text and images resist the simplicity of this binary, looking toward the fleeting, the often overlooked and the transformative. We have found something growing in the cracks of the concrete, reassembled from the dust within an archive and in the light that the moon casts upon the sea. We have lost many things, but not in their entirety. Like an atmospheric sound that lingers over us, they remain living, waiting for our attention. An unknown quantity of reverberations surrounds us, conjuring memories, both material and affective so as to offer a careful rereading of the present.

Contributors:
Tim Gibney, Shengjia Zhang, Makila Nsika Nkaya, Cecilia Leete, Mary Stuart Murray, Maia DeCamillo, Jango Cai, Barney Pau, Niyi Okuboyejo, Liliana Della Valle, Transit Grp. Louis Duvoisin, Radio Alhara

Curating, editing and design:
Andrew Murray
Anjuli-Irene Vadera
Hazel Graham
Isabella Millett
Nicky Kai-ho Liang
Mono Li
Qianru Yang
Runxin Zheng

Event

Unknown Quantities 12 Launch

The Green, Clerkenwell

Please join us for the launch of Unknown Quantities 12

𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓽

𝓪𝓷𝓭

𝓯𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭

Friday 6 December, 6pm
The Green, Clerkenwell

Update

Scenes

Scenes from 𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓯𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝓵𝓲𝓫𝓻𝓪𝓻𝔂 at @lethabygallery

Event
Poster artwork by Qianru Yang

UQ12 presents: Lost & Found Library

Lethaby Gallery, 1 Granary Square, London N1C 4AA

Unknown Quantities 12 presents

𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓯𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝓵𝓲𝓫𝓻𝓪𝓻𝔂

Part of Undone at @lethabygallery 12-13 November

Evening reception Tuesday 12 November 6pm
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We welcome you to this @uqjournal pre-publication installation, a transient dwelling space to read or to listen, to lose or to find.

The library will be presented alongside an exhibition in response to @archiveofdestruction and workshops by @starting_the_line

Issue 11

Event

UQ 11 Launch Party

Kiosk N1C, Stable Street, Coals Drops Yard N1C 4DQ

On January 26th, we will officially release the 11th issue of UQ. To celebrate the efforts of our team members and contributors, we‘ll be hosting a LAUNCH PARTY at Kiosk N1C. Come and get a drink!

Event

Unknown Quantities 11 pre-sale

Central Saint Martins, London

First round public Pre-sale is open now!!

We will be selling UNKNOWN QUANTITIES issues 1-10 and pre-sale of issue 11 at the CSM Street on Thursday and Friday from 11am-5pm.

Issue 10

Update

UQ10: Launch event!

After weeks of hard work we were so happy to celebrate the launch of Unknown Quantities 10! Thank you to everyone who joined us and to those who supported us throughout the project. Without your hype and support we would not have been able to pull off a launch event in @coaldropsyard

@csmgraphics
@csm_news
@ual_postgrad_community
@csm_publications

More photo of the journal to come!

Event

UQ10 Launch

Kiosk N1C, Stable Street, Coals Drops Yard N1C 4DQ
View link

Doors open from - 2:00 Official Launch event - 6:00 Combining the works of international artists and practioners, the milestone tenth issue of ‘Unknown Quantities’ explores the theme of “saturation”. The term saturation is used to refer to the masses of information and data online. UQ10 questions the effects of that on its users. Get free tickets at the link.

Update

Issue 10: Behind the Scenes

We thought we would treat you to a little behind the scenes!

We are currently knee-deep in editing which is a lot of fun but it also means… a lot of hard work, a lot of writing, a lot of discussions, a lot of emailing and a lot of paper everywhere!

Event

UQ10 pre-sale

Online
View link

Hello Everyone,

Exciting developments for team UQ!

We have our Pre order up and running for our UQ the theme of which is "SATURATION" , as this is the milestone 10th edition we have also included an opportunity to get your hands one of the previous issues.

To preorder UQ10 donate £12
OR to Preorder UQ10 AND get a previous issue you can donate £20

Issue 9

Update

UQ 09: Finitudes

What role have art and design played in the emergence of these crises? What part can they play in coming out of them? Do they enrich, transform, restore and question our world? What does this interplay look like? How are practitioners responding to these issues? What better ways of living can we imagine and design for ourselves?

Update

UQ9: A note from the Editors

Curious to know what #UQ9 is about? 🤔 Here's a note from the editorial team:

Art and design can be a means of observing and reflecting upon social issues - a sincere form of communication through which we convey sentiments, generating knowledge that enriches the understanding of the present and impels the imagination of the future. Increasingly we begin to see the dynamic link between art and design and the various intersecting crises in every corner of our global society. What role have art and design played in the emergence of these crises? What part can they play in coming out of them? Do they enrich, transform, restore and question our world? What does this interplay look like? How are practitioners responding to these issues? What better ways of living can we imagine and design for ourselves?

Issue 8

Event

UQ8 Fundraiser

Online
View link

UQ is a yearly student-led project. The core principle of UQ as a creative experiment lies in its non-hierarchical relationship between engaging design and intellectually driven approaches to publication. As such, its unofficial slogan is “academic thinking, not academic writing”. In 2020 our theme for the 8th issue of UQ is embodied in the prefix “Re-”, which symbolises the process of rethinking the past, acting on the present, and shaping the future. Our aim is to engage with various practices and industries to explore the issues of adaptability, reflection, creativity, responsibility and innovation. Due to the pandemic, this year's publication relies on pre-orders to fund printing. By donating £10, you will pre-order an issue of UQ8 which will be delivered to you by the end of the year. Our current goal of £1,500 is the minimum amount needed for printing and distribution needs. By purchasing this publication, you are not only obtaining an engaging and beautifully designed product, but are also supporting the hard work and future career opportunities of everyone involved in this project, whether they be a contributor, an editor or a designer.

Update

UQ8 Hunt

UQ8 Hunt! 🤳

UQ8 in @shreejinews
UQ8 in @tenderbooks
UQ8 in @magculture

See more images on our Instagram

Update

UQ8: Editors' letter

Editors’ Letter - 【2】

The prefix “Re-” stands for the reflective and regenerative attitude that we aim to inspire in our readers. Even though “Re-” may give a sense of repetition and circularity, we use it as a tool for reflection and criticality, encouraging constant regeneration. Starting from the concept and rationale of a manifesto, this publication assumes a dual identity of being both a product of its time and an ageless reflection on all times of struggle and instability. The sections of UQ8 – Rethink, React, Restart – form the three stages of a creative and critical process of transformation. Similar to the thought process of the Dada manifesto, this issue first reflects on the current state or mindset in Rethink, analyses the developments arising from new thoughts and processes in React, and proposes a new way of being and acting in Restart.

UQ8 Team
@yaseminvarlk
@elliestanton
@xtephanix
@catarinasrneves
@arianna_06c
@liuhanwen888
@lizakupreeva
@yiruxingren

@csm_news @ual_postgrad_community @csmgraphics

Update
Sticker design(s) by Ellie Stanton

UQ8 Stickers

Have some fun with UQ8 stickers
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜


Design by @elliestanton

Update

Printing: UQ8!

UQ8 is almost ready!!!

Issue 7

Event

Unknown Quantities #7 Launch

Photobookcafe, London
View link

Inspired by the notion of fluidity in all its iterations – fluidity of process, of identity, of thought, of motive – Unknown Quantities 7 present a publication that expands the solid realms of publishing itself, through an eclectic collection of works and articles. From metaphoric portraiture and generative typography to plasma physics and contemplative essays, UQ 7 presents a rich tapestry of works created by practitioners in varied fields. As the works collide and conspire the fluency of subject matter is traversed and the form and functions of publications are probed. Please reserve a ticket to guarantee a space.

Issue 6

Event

Unknown Quantities 6 Exhibition

Magma Books, London

In 2018 a group of designers and curators joined together to co-edit a publication. The result of this collaboration was the issue 6 Space/Place of Unknown Quantities. The issue presents a collection of written and visual works which examine notions of space and place, which affect our experience of the world.

Driven by the intention to expend the space of the book to the space of the gallery, Julia Gros, curator and co-author of Unknown Quantities 6, envisioned a second take of the project by giving a spatial turn to the publication. She articulated the work of the contributors in order to broaden the perspective on their relation to space in their disciplines. The space of Magma is then turned into an exhibition that invites you to enter a new dimension of the publication by engaging with films, visual installations, photography and research documents. The visitors and the readers of Unknown Quantities can thus explore further the contributors’ research and practice.

Event

Book Launch: Unknown Quantities 6

Burley Fisher Books, London
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Join us for the launch of Unknown Quantities 6 at Burley Fisher Books, Haggerston’s independent bookshop.

“Place is security, space is freedom: we are attached to the one and long for the other.” Yi-Fu Tuan

This issue of UQ focuses on an overarching theme of space and place. In this publication we invite you to navigate through a collection of written and visual works from a wide range of contributors who raised social and political concerns as well as developed a critical reflection on culture and identity.

FREE

Issue 5

Update

UQ5: Periphery

Unknown Quantities Journal 
ISSUE 5: Periphery

Published December 2017.

Printed in London on Cyclus Offset 100gsm. Edition of 200.

Supported by Central Saint Martins.
© 2017 the authors and Unknown Quantities

ISSN: 2055-1479

Event

UQ5 Launch Party

Travelling Through, London
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FREE ENTRY (PLEASE RSVP AS SPACE IS LIMITED)

It's here! We are excited to announce that UQ5 will be officially launching this week at Travelling Through bookshop in Waterloo. Now, in its fifth issue, UQ is a concept-based journal that bridges graphic design, critical writing and visual art. UQ5 focuses on the idea of the "peripheral" both as a subject and as a direction, bringing together contributions from the team and external commissions from artists, writers and practitioners. "Peripheral" is a method to observe the world, working as a lens to explore several forms of content through different interrelated fields, such as culture, art and science.

Please join us for a drink and come and look over/purchase the new issue with friends.

Issue 4

Event

UQ4 Intimacy Book Launch

Pages, London
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*Free entry, but please reserve a ticket above to guarantee a place as space is limited.*

This year's issue of UQ is titled intimacy. It collects a multitude of voices to express the difficulty in grasping a universal understanding of intimacy in today’s context. Poets, writers, artists, and practitioners each approached the topic in their own way, bringing fresh perspectives to ask us to reflect on the way we connect with each other.

At the book launch, invited contributors will read and share their work.

Issue 3

Event

Unknown Quantities III Publication Launch

Central Saint Martins, London
View link

Issue III of UQ is an investigation into the subject of normality viewed from the perspectives of ten individuals. The resulting collection of essays, interviews, poetry and photographs, respond to the notions of “normality” and “normal life”.

We are hosting a publication launch of Issue III on 17th December 2015 as a part of a series of events celebrating the AHRC 10th Anniversary debate Books and the Human at Central Saints Martins. Join us for a drink and the opportunity to purchase all three issues of Unknown Quantities.