Nuda is a Stockholm-based theme magazine. Their latest cultural publication Beyond explores the spiritual, the supernatural, the subjective, the shadowy, the spectral, space. The aim is to map out different perspectives of the immaterial and try to grasp the disembodied experience.

Aplace has been honored to be a small part of this publication. We will sell Beyond online and in our stores and we also the very limited longsleeves made in collaboration with Our Legacy dedicated to the this issue.

We sat down with founders Frida Vega Salomonsson and Nora Hagdahl before the release of Beyond.

Tell us about yourself and how Nuda was founded.

Frida Vega Salomonsson: I work as a photographer and spend a lot of time on Instagram. I am very comfortable in the role of observer and that was a big reason why I started with photography from the beginning. Nuda then became the next step in being able to shoot and publish exactly what you wanted. The embryo for Nuda was actually created when we were in high school. We were young, naive and wanted to spread our ideas and aesthetics with the world. How cute isn’t it? Now we are semi-young and semi-naive.

Nora Hagdahl: Nuda is primarily a space for us to create without interruption, a platform where we can do what we want and what we enjoy doing. What we love to do the most is books, so twice a year we come out with one. But then we also do exhibitions, clothes, events and much more fun with Nuda too! Otherwise, I work as a writer and curator between Berlin and Stockholm. In my spare time I enjoy sitting and watching various seminars, documentaries or other curiosities on Youtube.

The theme for the new Nuda is Beyond. What does Beyond stand for and how did it become that particular theme?

N: Beyond wants to map the world beyond what we can see and touch – the spiritual or subjective. We wanted to get past our physical reality to explore all the other deep stuff in our conscious or far away space. Through an eclectic mix of contributors, we have created a book where different perspectives on transcendence, magic or the subconscious could  meet. I think we both, when we started working on the book, felt that the world was screaming for different types of spirituality. People sought ways to escape the increasingly depressing reality, whether through astrology apps, tripping on LSD or mindfulness.

F: I felt that I had many questions last summer after having attended a co-creation tantra-ish wedding and was after that forced by my boyfriend to read A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. It was a  world I hadn’t found myself in before, which I initially despised, but still strained to open up to. Sweden is believed to be one of the most secular countries in the world, but we still see many types of seeking for something more. I think people are tired of life which just means going to work and home, people want more sense of being!

You have an interview with Christer Fuglesang, have had some kind of seance with Hilma af Klint and talk to the actor and artist Jemima Kirke. First, how did you get in touch with all these wonderful people and how is the theme reflected in the content?

N: Haha, we think of the book as an eclectic dinner party that would have been exciting to be involved in – with philosophers, designers, artists, scientists and magicians gathered around a table.

F: All contributors talk about the theme in one way or another.

N: In Beyond, you can read about how astronaut Christer Fuglesang wants to colonize space, or about the performance artist Marina Abramović’s ideas on parallel universes. Director Roy Andersson tells us that he doesn’t actually believe in a life after death and the philosopher Martin Hägglund writes that we must see life as finite in order to appreciate the time we have together.

F: GIRLS actress Jemima Kirke says that the only spirituality she believes in is love and Acne Studios founder Jonny Johansson tells us that God could just as well be a rabbit if you ask him. Uri Geller, (in)famous spoon-bender, talks to artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff about his encounters with the other side and life from other planets and New York Times darling, science journalist Michael Pollan, calls for a psychedelic renaissance. Time to tune in and drop out. I think you get the picture.

N: Some people you email, others you go and knock on their door – as in Roy Andersson’s case.

How beyond are you yourself? I’m thinking about belief in the inexplicable, ghosts – are you spiritual?

N: I believe in something more than just the reality we experience through our senses. I think there is more to the world than what we can see around us. But I don’t believe in ghosts and I don’t believe in horoscopes.

F: I think there are things we humans don’t understand, yet. Things beyond our horizon. But I’m not particularly spiritual.

You are more or less alone when it comes to publishing in the form of print. How do you manage and what drives you? What are you struggling with and what kind of support would be appreciated?

N: I think we both just love making books – it’s still something else to do an object and create a world of its own. Print is a fun medium in that way, where you can dip your toes in many different fields. It’s a much more fun platform for creators than www, since the internet is so fast, short-lived and infinitely large. We also think that people want books, something you can hold in your hand. Is there a better scent than the first time you open a new book? It is a completely different feeling to read in a book than to read on the internet. We are also not so interested in the fast and trendy. Our content is never reporting and therefore fits better in the bookshelf than in a feed.

F: We want to create an object that people should have for a long time and think is beautiful. But it takes a lot of stubbornness. It would have been fun if there was more of a print culture in Sweden and Scandinavia. As a writer, photographer or artist it is so much more fun to be seen and documented this way. Print is always a fun reflection of the time we live in and to hold for the future. Sweden has a reputation for being at the forefront of art, fashion and photography – known worldwide for its good taste. So how come publications like Bon, Nöjesguiden, Pop, Bibel, Darling and Bang, neither in print nor digital, hardly exist anymore?

How has Corona affected your work with this book?

N: We have by no means been standing outside of what is happening in the world. Of course, Corona has stricken hard on all types of alternative cultural magazines like ours. At the same time, perhaps the theme feels more urgent than ever, when the world is in chaos, is it perhaps time to look inward, outward, beyond?

F: It’s a good time to be at home reading. We will continue to carry on and release a new book this fall. Keep on fighting!

What do you see in the future for fashion and cultural magazines?

N: We hope there will be more! There are so many fun magazines out there, but unfortunately it’s a culture we lost a bit here in Scandinavia. In cities like Berlin and London, it is booming with independent titles. We don’t think that news reporting is doing that well in print, it can live on the web. But content that requires a bit more of the reader does best in print form.

F: The future is challenging, in a digital age where everything is so accessible and free, it is obviously very difficult to create a business that makes ends meet. Many magazines have their greatest income and reach through the web. But with that said, there is a demand for publications that are ambitious and can provide something other than quick kicks and a fast scrolls.

Can you give a sneak peek on the next book? Where are you heading next time? 

N: We have been beyond and out of space, now we want to return to the earthly.

Q: Stay tuned to @nudapaper for all the news there!