Meaning Making with Maya Man

Maya Man is an artist creating work about Internet culture and identity. She joins me to talk about her recent projects, Fake It Till You Make It, Ugly Bitches, Little Darlings, and (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes. Read the highlights of our conversation on the site. Find out more about Maya’s work on her website, or follow her on Instagram.

Joey & Jawn from Lifeworld join USURPATOR to talk about their platform River.ph.We talk about our digital patterns, pushing the boundaries of a social platform, and Frank Ocean’s Tumblr.Read a shortened version of our conversation on the site, try River, or follow Jawn or Joey on Twitter.

Molly Soda is an internet-based performance artist whose work explores mass media culture, virtual communication patterns, and the concept of “posting self.” During our conversation, we talk about virtual visibility, why people think of their past selves as “cringe,” and the art of publicizing private spaces.Visit Molly’s website or her Substack, or follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

Emma Sato from Roger That joins us for a conversation about modern dating culture in the virtual era, communication habits, and neurotic social media behavior. Follow Emma on Instagram, her project Roger That, or subscribe to their newsletter.

Nicole Tremaglio is a writer, podcastress, and pop culture theorist who joins the mag for a conversation about nostalgia, aesthetic revivals, the leopard print midi skirt, and how the internet hyperaccelerates trend cycles. You can find Nicole on Instagram and Twitter, read her newsletter, or listen to her podcast, Nicstalgia. Read a shortened version of our conversation on the site.

Alexi Alario is a podcastress, fashion theorist, and K-Pop stan based in NYC. She joins the mag for a conversation on idol world-building, Stan Twitter, and how K-Pop became mainstream in the West. Follow Alexi on Instagram, listen to Nymphet Alumni, or subscribe to their Patreon. Read the condensed version of our conversation on Usurpator Mag.

Elliott Cost is a web artist, designer, traveler, and file-keeper currently based in Rotterdam. Elliott joined USURPATOR to talk about their new project, File Life, and past project HTML.energy. During our conversation we talk about the emotional weight of our files, traveling light both IRL and digitally, the energy of code, and grounding our virtual work offline. Check out Elliott’s File Life site, or HTML.energy. You can find Elliott through their website, or on Instagram.

Zane Kind is a designer, artist, writer, technologist, and co-founder of Silknode, a subcultural creative internet company building a platform for creative research, archive, moodboards, and online marketplace. During our conversation, we talk about archive internet, niche culture, creator versus curator economy, gatekeeping, citing your sources, and why everyone is nostalgic for 2016. Read the transcript of our conversation on the site, or follow Zane on Instagram or Twitter. You can join the waitlist for Silk , read their white paper, and follow them on Instagram.

We’re joined in conversation with Sean X Thielen-Esparza, a New York-based designer, artist, and co-founder of Genesis. During our conversation, we discuss the concept of animating, betting on the future, and the illusion of disunity. Read a transcript of our conversation on Usurpator Mag, or check out Genesis, Menagerie, or follow Sean on Instagram or Twitter.

In today's ep we are joined by Chia Amisola, an internet/ambient artist from the Philippines. Chia is also a a designer, organizer, and founder of Developh and Philippine Internet Archive. During our conversation, we talk about the form of a website, the art of digital preservation, and how we can break down the common structures of the internet to create better spaces for ourselves and our communities.You can read the transcript of our conversation on the site, or follow Chia on Instagram, Twitter, and visit their website.