want in seconds, but people are stepping back and appreciating things like vinyl and tapes. Actual solid things, something to remember and appreciate later on.”
Max’s art fairs enable him to see a wide array of talents “Slowly but surely we are getting people asking for stall space. I speak to literally everyone at the events though and have met some good illustrators that don’t have as much self-belief as they should for such talented people.” Likewise, Zines usually ask for submissions, allowing individuals to have their work published and therefore enhance the audience of the publication. Calls for submissions either follow an overriding theme of the publisher – such as veganism, punk music, poetry – or encourage any creative form – including more far-ranging creative endeavours such as graphic design, homemade recipes and asemic writing. Zines, therefore, become more varied and targeted than most glossy magazines, and retain a visual aspect greater than celebrity-driven photoshoots.
CJ runs Black Lodge Press - and varies the styles and themes of the zines available, from mini-books containing nothing but illustrations of abandoned houses, to comics such as the Axolotl series (which has been longlisted for the 2014 British Comic Awards). Cj is an avid zinester and believes they are “a way of exhibiting your art and ideas through a totally DIY and accessible format.” Black Lodge Press has a wide array of illustration, artistic and drawn elements in the work they produce and CJ likens it to that of an art gallery “it’s almost like being able to curate your own gallery show, but […] you can present it through something which anyone can just pick up and look at and share.” Cj’s sentiment is shared by SHAKE’s Max Kemp who furthers the idea of zines as art(efacts), “you can find a zine hidden away from years ago that you forgot about and it’ll take you back in time”.
The joy of pushing yourself whilst helping others is key to the zine community, ‘I’ve put on shows and events back in Cornwall, made skate videos, and I constantly push and help others to do shit for themselves. It’s more rewarding than sitting back and taking it,’ Max Kemp tells me, clearly demonstrating the sheer love he has for the DIY community, ‘I literally wanna have fun, hang out with good people and meet new people that dig cool stuff really.’
The most important aspect of it all is aptly summed up by Max, however, who ends by telling me ‘If it stops being something fun, I’ll screw it off and do something else!’
By Aaron Kent- originally published by Konbini