The moment of birth can be many things—painful, surprising, harrowing, joyful—and this isn’t just childbirth: the idea of creation and newness appears in many forms in art and visual culture. Many artists look to the future, considering the idea of new life through computer algorithms, which take on their own momentum once set in motion by their mastermind. In this issue we meet five artists who explore creation and the ever-growing trend of humans playing God—well, at least until the machines are officially Mum and Dad.

We also feature Encounters with legendary New York painter Alex Katz, Turner Prize-nominee Nicole Wermers and French musical duo The Blaze, whose vigorous but nuanced videos explore gender, race and friendship. We also meet the new guard, interviewing Joy Labinjo and Aliki Braine.

Our regular columnists, Mel Byars and Federico Florian explore expensive taste and anticipation, respectively, while Katya Tylevich dives into rebirth, imagining a possible visa form for a self-reinvention centre.

In our Paper Galleries, we profile the unsettlingly beautiful work of Lothar Baumgarten, and pair two young female painters: Sofia Stevi and Maria Farrar.