F
From the more structured comics to the loose,
experimental pieces of art and poetry, zines have always
been rooted on political matters. In the Philippines, we
have witnessed its rise to fame through art expos such
as Better Living Through Xeroxography (BLTX),
first organized by renowned poet Conchitina Cruz
and artist Adam David in 2010. Such events paved the
way for local collectives to start their own series of art
gatherings for sellers and enthusiasts alike. Today, art
fairs are everywhere, thanks to indie presses such as
Gantala Press and Magpies Press. Newer bookstores
have also begun to specialize in showcasing zines to a
larger audience, with Kwago and Studio Soup Zine Library taking the lead.
We chatted with two women artists respected in the field of indie publishing
about zines and what they think of indie publishing in relation to the dying (is it
really?) art of mainstream publishing.
“A personal act of shedding”
Megan Flores’s involvement in independent publishing began when she joined Pantas
UPLB, an undergraduate writing organization in the University of the Philippines Los
Baños. She later became a member of The Cabinet, a group of individual artists and
writers also based in Laguna. Megan noted how members of both groups were always
encouraged toward the experimental and alternative in terms of form and production.
“Because of that, I think self-publishing was always an eventual, logical step.”
Her first try at producing and publishing a zine was “a sort of exercise” for herself,
“which came at an apt time because I was struggling with writing, and then it helped
me ease back into it”. Her inaugural zine tackled the concept of omission, and she likes
to think of it like “a personal act of shedding”.
Megan has only been involved in a few but
notably successful collaborative projects, most recently
with fellow The Cabinet member and literature
professor Christian Tablazon. Megan describes the
process of collaborating for zines as involving a lot of
dialogue and self-editing. “I like collaborations as you
get to be hands-on in creating something that feels
much bigger because you’re not doing it alone. It’s
always interesting to see how a project will turn out
with your combined efforts.”
Megan adds: “Being part of a collective has
definitely informed what I produce and how I read as
well. Most of us who are active in The Cabinet also
came from Pantas, wherein we would workshop texts
heavily, so I know we all work with a similar critical
voice by default. I definitely also think that our works
influence each other. I suppose it can be a little harder
to find or keep your own voice in a collaborative
setting, especially if you have similar styles. But in the
collective’s case, for example, there’s freedom for us to
explore our work on our own.”
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Members of The Cabinet at
Gandang-Ganda Sa Sariling
Gawa, an all-women art fair
organized by Gantala Press,
held at the Cultural Center for
the Philippines, March 2018