zine review:
Brick
Now here’s a zine that packs a wallop of artsy goodness. Totally tiny and 100% photocopied, this zine is chock-full of photos, poems, adages and a host of other wordsmithery to chew on. More interesting is the fact that issues 10 and 11 were made in China while one of the creators was living there, and issue 13 was made during her visit to Taiwan. Brick is a true gem as it explores so many different avenues of creativity–from visual to written–and does so unconventionally. No uniform methodology is applied to its layout … things are just haphazardly strewn upon the pages, the picture and font sizes varying from page to page. And it can be opened from either side–from the left like the common book, or from the right like a manga.
The subjects in the photographs range widely, from people to landscapes to objects. At one moment the reader is awestruck by a breathtaking aerial shot of the Great Wall, while the simple picture of a door on the following page hits them like they had just crashed into it. Unfortunately, the photocopying and compact size of the zine makes some shots unclear.
Theme is another element that is in a constant state of flux, with poems touching on the descriptive, introspective and even humourous. What remains consistent, however, is that each poem is conjured from an experience. Some favourites include:
pink interns: i should ask/rather than/touch her/but there’s/this devil/pulling up/asphalt/quicker ‘n/i can lay it/down
Honey Comber: of course, he said/to taste sweetness/you must grasp the power/of resonance/over volume
The Liberators: come quick, a hummingbird is/trapped within this glass bubble/we must free it using only our voices
If you have a taste for poetry coupled with thought-provoking photography and abstract drawings, tracking down this zine would be worth every bit of the legwork. (Amy Greenwood)
Zine, Sophia Kidd, issue 10, 11 & 13 [email protected]