Was it you?
Zine, Sarah Farquhar, 28 pgs, sarahfarquhar.com
The missed connections section of Craigslist, where people write listings about perceived, fleeting interpersonal connections in hope of finding the other party, has long been a source of content and voyeuristic fascination for freelance writers and assorted dweebs across the planet. A quick search of Google News shows articles about the section from many mainstream outlets including the Washington Post, Toronto Life and the Calgary Herald. So, it’s only right and natural that there is a subterranean version of these pieces. We have it. It’s called Was it you?
This zine is fun because it collects assorted real life missed connections and pairs them with original drawings that are cute, creepy, scary and surreal. Most of the ads are pretty G-rated. A few are fairly adults. Still others just don’t make any sense. Basically, there’s something for everyone here!
The common thread is the artistry. Sarah Farquhar keeps things consistent with playful sketches regardless of the subject matter. Even the most benign missed connections (example: “I saw you in a pub-lic pool”) lend themselves strangely well to a stranger’s interpretation. So again, this is a great way to get a random peek at an unknown person’s search for whom or whatever without even having to go on the internet.