Two Zines
We made two zines!
Me and my long time collaborator Richard Nicholls have just published 2 zines – each very different in concept, style and message.
A zine, (short for magazine or fanzine), is a self-published, limited run publication; traditionally hand-made and reproduced on a copy machine, although these days are often commercially printed, albeit still in small numbers and with the same non-commercial DIY philosophy.
The first zine we made, ‘enough to see but not enough to see by’, was inspired by ‘House of Leaves’ (Mark Z. Danielewski, 2000) which was also used as the starting point for one of our previous collaborative projects ‘Wall Stories’ which was shown as part of the ESPY Photographic Awards in 2019.
We set up some props in Richard’s studio and spent a day photographing them to give our interpretation of the complex novel. It has no clear singular meaning and the author has largely avoided giving a set interpretation of the text. This forces readers to walk away with their own conclusions.
It is one of my favourite books and I often go back to it to enjoy it’s complexity. It is typographically unique with copious footnotes and it is impossible to read the book the same way twice.
Our second zine, ‘end of an era’, shows photographs of the former Royal Worcester Porcelain Factory which closed in 2009 after 258 years. We took these images in 2012 when we had the opportunity to go around the site before it was cleared. This is the first time that the images have been seen in public. A zine seemed the most appropriate way to share the photographs in order to make them accessible to as many people as possible.
Both are available to buy on our websites. £5 if you would like to collect person or £7 if you would like one posted to you.
The process of making a zine has been really liberating and we are looking forward to making some more. I thoroughly recommend having a go yourself as there is lots of online advice.