The theme this year: Seams – the junction at which life intercedes. The journal hopes to bring together that which can combine or separate existence. The aim is to make a pastiche of the twice let down skirt, the cracks on the sidewalk and the texture of the rebound book- those things that link us as members of the present, to those experiences which help shape us. 

Consider ‘Seams’. They are an element of our existence holding things together. They are the stiches holding the two sides of a wound in place, hoping it heals. They are the tracks running either side of jeans, hems lengthened when we grow. They are torn apart, ripped and sewed back together. They are the ties that bind and those that break. They unite opposites and are the DMZ between viewpoints. Seams breathe with us and can constrict us in the same moment. Seams are shapes and are folds. The seams of a toastie hold the most crunch, and the seams of a onesie are the fluffiest of all. They can be the family member that is a go-between and they can be the point at which the buck stops. They can be the brickwork either side of the ivy that creeps up the exterior wall. Seams are what make up life, and what we keep changing to live.