London Zine Symposium
Meeting the DIY self-publishers
There are glossy, mass appeal, air-brushed, super white-toothed mainstream magazines and then there are zines – photocopied, stapled and joyously lo-fi. Loved by artists and radicals, zines have played an important role in underground culture for decades, and as the the London Zine Symposium enters its sixth year, there’s no sign that they have lost any of their cult status.
Created as a product of expression instead of simply as a product, the zine allows complete creative freedom and because of small circulation there is a sense that they are something exclusive and special. It is no wonder then that zines continue to be popular, when all other print media are struggling, more like small works of art to be kept than something to read in the hairdressers.
The tangibility and personality of a zine is what appeals to those who buy them. For the creators, it is simply a desire to share something with people without the compromises involved with using commercial means. It is like buying your potatoes straight from the farmer – zines are organic, undiluted creativity, still a little muddy from the ground.
The London Zine Symposium will host stalls selling zines, advice for people who want to start a zine, workshops and talks about zine culture. We asked some people who will be stall holders at the event about their work and why they think zines are so good that they need a symposium.
Holly Dicker, TBA zine
Who are you?
Part-time journalist, amateur photographer and dabbling designer. In 2008 I graduated from university and fell into magazine editorship, running my student publication for a year before setting up tba in Feb 2010.
Describe your zine/zines
A preview into subversive, unknown & admired creativity. A platform for young & fledgling writers, musicians & artists. A monthly limited edition magazine. A hand screen-printed piece of original artwork
Why did you start producing zines?
I’ve always been passionate about writing, art and music – magazines pulled them all together.
Do you think there is still a place for zines, since the Internet is now the creative outlet of choice for many artists?
Is it? Given the choice I think most artists would prefer a more tactile – or distinctive – outlet. Whilst the Internet has certainly made it easier for artists to promote themselves and their work, I can’t help but feel this heightened accessibility has diluted the way we experience art – and music for that matter.
Why do you think the zine is still so popular?
You can build a personalised website from scratch, but in the end it is still a standardised entity – constrained to 2D and the frame of your computer screen. The possibilities of a magazine however are endless, limited only by the creator’s imagination...
What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting a zine?
Producing a magazine is very personal – you’re presenting a piece of yourself to a faceless audience. Feedback may be rare or even critical, but if you pride yourself in your efforts, there is nothing more satisfying.
Girl Mountain
Who are you?
I am Girl Mountain. It is a fantasy business industry that makes comic books, cdr's and cassettes (that usually come with small comic books). GM also has in the past made toiletries, action dolls, trash, costumes from trash, fine art and bad songs. (Girl Mountain is a 28 year old man-child of australian origin who has lived most of his life on government benefits and been really high. GM makes something new everyday.)
Describe your zine/zines.
My zines are 'comic books'. Dry, black humour / dramady / spazz / depression. I value long pacing and good drawing. my recent work includes a series of books about a witch, her cat and their roommate, an owl, who get high a lot and do horrible things around the house. I am also finishing work on a colour 244 page thing about fucking, the brain and magic. It's the first part of a 1000 page graphic novel. I think my stuff is 'awesome' and 'competent'.
Why did you start producing zines?
In 1989 I was 8. I loved Mad magazine and Disney ducks. I drew all the time and – I have no idea why – I went to the local newsagent and made a zine out of my shit. A messed up 8yr old's zine. A4, stapled stack. I had no knowledge of zine culture obviously, I just wanted to make my own comic book. I sold it in the playground at lunch, like a sleazy salesman, there was a 'bonus gift' on the cover, a garfield band-aid.
I never stopped. in early high school I got into Dan Clowes and Chris Ware and stuff and learnt about zine culture. Making self-published booklets is a disease you catch. I could have been a doctor or a pilot or a fireman. I live in garden sheds and eat beans and make funny books and write poetry.
Do you think there is still a place for zines, since the internet is now the creative outlet of choice for many artists?
FUCK THE INTERNET. The internet is for lazy people and stupid 14 year olds. It's like e-readers vs real books. Fucking e-readers will never replace real books. Reading a book is making love to a book. The internet is hollow cybersex.
As long as there is still a REAL WORLD there will still be a want for REAL THINGS we can touch and hold. Zines are art. Computerzzz cannot have wooden covers, be chocolate covered, be sown by hand, have glitter applied. The internet has no bonus garfield band-aids and it never will.
Why do you think the zine is still so popular?
Small booklets made with hyperactive love by obsessive oddballs with strange ideas will never grow old. Even if a lot of people do move into boring internet conformity there will still always be ARTISTS and CRAFTERS who will continue scissoring, gluing, glittering and die-cutting things into BEAUTY and FANTASTICNESS. And who doesn't love the smell of papers?
What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting a zine?
Releasing a new issue of your zine is like having a baby, but better, because babies suck and get in the way of actually making art and doing things and having freedom. Seriously, make some zines. It's utterly fucking intoxicating. Just be warned that it is addictive, and it may cause fantasy worlds and delusions of grandeur, friends and beauty.
Send them to weird places, trade them with other booklet makers. If your zine doesn't suck you might get an internship at Teengirl or maybe nobody will care at all. Either way, it is pretty fun and it fills lonely hours.
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