The good folks at the The Alpine Review will be featuring some text and photographs from Rabbit Island in their second issue, out this spring.

The Montreal-based bi-annual magazine tracks art, culture and ideas around the world. Below are a few words from the preface of the inaugural print. They remind us a bit, perhaps, of sentiments found in Foucault’s The Order of Things. 

Exploring ‘the order of things’ is definitely a premise of the island project. Can the civilized and the native become more sensible complements via better organization? Can the collusion of modern ideas (genetics, the web, mapping, social business, art, etc.), lead to new, more fundamentally classic, rules than currently stand as policy? Can metaphors from a remote island apply to a broader setting? We’re hopeful. Regardless, we’re excited to collaborate with this beautiful new publication.

These are fascinating times. It is a common vanity to believe that one’s generation is the most tumultuous, most evolving and most important. Perhaps it is is true. Perhaps it is nothing more than historical narcissism. Nevertheless, there is an uncanny feeling that something profound is taking place at this very moment. This is not a gradual evolution. This is an accelerating shake-up spanning industries and cultures: a massive tearing-down, redesign and renovation of processes, systems, structures and perspectives.

The magnitude of these rapid changes intrigued and discomforted me. After speaking to friends and colleagues it became clear that I was not the only one. I realized that the passage of time, the impetus of career and excesses of consumerism had started making me numb; like the pins and needles that climb into your toes when you’ve been still for too long, I felt compelled to shake it out. It was time for a new project: The Alpine Review.

[…]

Modernity rarely allows us the luxury and liberty of mindful reflection and I have been truly fortunate to spend a year doing just that: traveling, discussing and debating with people I admire, connecting with new projects, and actually taking the time to look listen and question. What started as an exciting conversation with my co-editor has snowballed into a compendium of ideas and observations from people all around the world trying to make sense of things. I’m honored to present you with the inaugural issues of The Alpine Review. 

Louis-Jacques Darveau, Editor