Vale: Línea Recta

Colombian twins Valeria and Valentina Pérez—under the moniker Vale—deliver the harmonious vocals on “Línea Recta.” As the first track from their titular debut album, the song blends folk-pop melodies with poetic lyrics about self-love and -celebration, resulting in a sonic union that recalls basking in the sun or diving into the ocean. Like the other tracks in the album, it’s sung in their native Spanish, …

2021 Ocean Photography Awards Finalists

The nominees for 2021’s Ocean Photography Awards have been announced, and the selection highlights vibrant and extraordinary images that pay tribute to the vast beauty of the deep sea and its creatures. The categories of this year’s awards include Youth Photographer of the Year, Collective Portfolio, Community Choice and Conservation—with the last illustrating the environmental issues that plague the ocean today. View the water from …

Illustrator Samuel Luke Explores Gender Through Autobiographical Comics

With cosmic illustrations, this Australian artist delves into identity, tomboyhood and the trans experience for himself and an audience of all ages

When Samuel Luke Beatty began his Fine Arts degree at the University of New South Wales in 2014, his work consisted almost entirely of the same self-portrait: a close-cropped drawing of his head and shoulders, repeated ad infinitum through a myriad of media. But in the years since, this self-depiction has taken on a far more intimate quality. Beatty, now working as a freelance illustrator and …