Spinal Memory is the fourth issue of te, the bilingual annual magazine published by te editions, an independent publishing house based in New York and Beijing. Each issue brings together artists, writers, scholars, and researchers around a single theme, using editorial design as a space for interdisciplinary inquiry.

This issue examines the human relationship to nonhuman animals through the metaphor of the spine—the evolutionary structure that enabled upright walking while reinforcing a human-centered view of the world. Rather than proposing solutions, Spinal Memory assembles essays, artworks, photography, drawing, and speculative writing that reconsider how humans observe, classify, exploit, and coexist with other species. Contributors approach these questions through ecology, philosophy, anthropology, contemporary art, and literature, collectively challenging familiar hierarchies between humans and the natural world.

Thread-bound and presented in both Chinese and English, te continues to distinguish itself through thoughtful editorial sequencing and refined book design. Like previous issues, it demonstrates how the magazine format can function as a curated exhibition in print, where visual and textual works unfold through careful pacing, material choices, and dialogue across disciplines.

Contributors includeEva Koťátková, Hsu Che-Yu and Chen Wan-Yin, Victoria Soyan Peemot, Sha Shuang, Liz Pui Yee Chee, Robert Zhao Renhui, Qindi Hu, Chuangbin Chen, Lei Zhu, Wantanee Siripattananuntakul, Boria Sax, Candice Lin and Justin Torres

Designed by Can Yang
Edited by Michael Guo and Kechun Qin, with assistance from Jierui Ou

Published by te editions, 2026

Softcover, 172 pages, offset printed, full color, 7.28 × 10.24 inches

ISBN: 979-8-98-901705-8