Spike is a themed art magazine; this Summer 2026 issue is titled ‘Spirituality’ and explores how the art world is responding to the contemporary zeitgeist’s obsession with the metaphysical. In the words of the Spike team: ‘A higher power is having a moment. From the growth of Latin Mass and meditation apps, to evangelisms for AI and theoretic wars, the metaphysical heft is piling up.’
Inside: Jamaican scholar and sound artist Isis Semaj-Hall’s critical portrait of the late reggae icon Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry sheds light on his visual oeuvre’s spiritual and cultural roots, giving context to the famous refrain: ‘I am a madman / come to cool the bad man’; Korean-American writer and musician Johanna Hedva’s essay ‘The Voice Is a Fishing Net and God Is Water’ navigates pain and grief in the age of optimisation, noting that ‘suffering belongs to the body; but, always looming on the horizon, doom belongs to the imagination’; and an interview with Amazonian artist Santiago Yahuarcani explores his use of natural pigments on cloth to preserve the pride, history, and cultural heritage of the White Heron Clan in the northern Amazon region of Peru.
