Artzine, 24 pages, Tallulah Fontaine, tallulahfontaine.tumblr.com, [email protected] $5 plus postage
Tallulah’s little travel zine is presented tersely, with a clean-cut layout. I like that she trusts you to engage with her creation on your own without much in the way of explanation.
Indeed, the only words that appear in flourish – apart from the title and brief author’s credit – are: “Drawings and photos from a month of travelling and farming in Iceland.” The photographs may have been found, as they looked aged. A portrait of children and grandparents appears to have had white tears drawn on it. A dark black-and-white photograph of pigs minding their business in front of a farmhouse might not be out of place in a Tarkovsky film. Flipping through them again I feel more convinced that they are found photos. Perhaps family photos?
Interspersed with these photos are drawings, which resemble the work of Nikki McClure. And like in the work of McClure, there is a profound connection to the earth: windswept grass, mud and worms, and resting animals. There’s a certain darkness suggested too: a skinned knee, unsettling dreams, and houses overwhelmed by their landscape. I’m okay with not knowing what it’s all about. I think Tallulah is too. (Chris Landry)