Free Activation Series Vol. 1-3
Publications > Free Activation Series Vol. 1–3
A twisted sampling of underground electronic and psychedelic hip-hop streaming from the global collective unconscious. Produced by Sweet Mother Records.
"The Sweet Mother Recording Company is quickly becoming one of America's finest new labels for abstract dance and jazz flavored groups."
— URB #5, Jan/Feb 1997
Vol. 1
Distributed by SUB POP. Features 3xInfinity, High Fidelity, Dragonfly, T.S.R., Strange Voices, Earth, Alms For The Poor, and Pigeonhed. Includes remixes by DJ Spooky and production by Mario Caldato Jr.
Released in 1997.
Vol. 2
A limited edition companion release, available only at gallery events in Tokyo and New York and distributed by BEAMS Records in Japan. Features Plastiq Phantom, Beanfield, E.D. Swankz, Advertising The Invisible, Bahamadia, Pressure Rise, Snowboy and the Latin Section, Karma, Only Child, Buscemi, and Hairy Diamond.
Released in 2000.
Vol. 3
Published to accompany a touring exhibition curated by Neverstop, Free Activation Series Vol. 3 documents a collaboration between neo-graffiti artists and Northwest Coast Native craftsmen — two traditions rooted in iconographic visual language, separated by centuries but sharing a commitment to symbol, repetition, and meaning.
The project brought together artists including Space Invader, Perks (Australia), and Rostarr (NYC) with members of the Cowichan Tribe, who produced limited edition hand-knit sweaters and hand-carved totem poles in dialogue with the contemporary works. The exhibition opened at Beam's International gallery in Tokyo in 1999, then traveled to Paris and New York.
Released in 2000.
Neverstop Publications
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KAWS C10
Paintings by KAWS, foreword by Carlo McCormick Michelin, the Simpsons, Mickey, Astroboy and Miffy all fall victim to KAWS in C10, the third publication from the Brooklyn based artist.
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KAWS EXPOSED
Published as a collaboration between the gallery at ARO.space and Colette in Paris to accompany shows in Seattle and Paris. The book features KAWS's early work from the 1990s — his appropriation and intervention of advertising material, cleverly reworked with variations of his hallmark skull and crossbones.
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Free Activation Series Vol. 1–3
Published to accompany a touring exhibition curated by Neverstop, Free Activation Series Vol. 3 documents a collaboration between neo-graffiti artists and Northwest Coast Native craftsmen — two traditions rooted in iconographic visual language, separated by centuries but sharing a commitment to symbol, repetition, and meaning.
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Identical
A portrait series exploring the space between two people who share a face. Sorum photographed twins in New York and Los Angeles, and on location at twins festivals in Twinsburg, Ohio and Lake Tahoe, Nevada — capturing what connects them and what distinguishes them.
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Hard Times
A monthly zine and weekly club night launched in 2009 as a response to the post-crash malaise in Seattle's queer arts scene.
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Habana Hip Hop
"Revolution in Cuba has a name and it's hip hop." - Junior Clan
The first complete retrospective of Cuban hip hop - a movement raised on free education, zero MTV, and years of fighting for legitimacy. Once illegal, Cuban rap earned its way into the establishment through persistence: an obstinate youth outlasting a concerned government.
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The Art of Parties - The Tasty Years
The Art of Parties chronicles Seattle’s late-’80s through early-2000s underground, when drag, DJs, conceptual art, and the early Internet collided to spark one of the Pacific Northwest’s most inclusive and experimental creative movements. Featuring archival photos, original flyer art, and firsthand stories, it serves as both a love letter and a time capsule of an era that can’t be recreated.
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HEAVY Vol. 1 & 2
A two-volume multimedia tribute to rock 'n' roll, co-published with Manhattan creative collective Alife.
Fifty-six artists reinterpreted classic rock album covers. Emerging recording artists contributed new music. Writers delivered rock-inspired fiction. The project revisits three pillars of rock 'n' roll's cultural impact - music, packaging, and writing - bound into two 12×12 softcover volumes with accompanying vinyl.
