If you’re one of Daniel Arsham’s 307k followers on Instagram then you would’ve noticed him slipping lately… clues that is. For the past few weeks, the artist has been sharing what appears to be text messages with someone on his team about a new film and upcoming shoe release. In one conversation with “Benny”, Arsham asks, “Are we still going to be able to release it for the beginning of December?” To which Benny responds, “Yeah we’re all good”, adding, “I think we’ve made something special you know.” Another message refers to “the last one”, with Benny also commenting that they’d “raised the bar”. Arsham expresses that he’s worried the film “reveals too much”. 

The messages allude to a script, which Arsham has also been leaking in parts. Fans might remember Arsham’s recent project, a collaboration with adidas Originals, whereby a blue phone booth appeared at New York’s KITH store with nothing but a number to guide visitors. Once dialled, what appeared to be Asham’s voicemail messages would play – sharing a conversation with his mum about a childhood memory. Soon after, the artist released his own shoe – a remix of the New York – and a film titled PAST – HOURGLASS, which took us back to Daniel’s experience of a hurricane when he was a child.

Speaking with Dazed, Arsham said, “Time travel and a fluid idea of time is something that I use heavily in my work, by taking things from the past and causing them to appear as if they've been uncovered on some future archaeological site. The film plays with this idea: hence the hourglass.”

It seems Arsham and adidas Originals are back at it – as the most recent message reveals, Arsham and Benny also discuss time travel, fact and fiction, the future, and a new shoe.

Rewatch Arsham’s last film, PAST – HOURGLASS, below: