Sure6 is comprised of interviews with various Australian zine-makers about their work, their motivations for zine making and their experiences in Australia’s zine making communities. In her introductory letter — where she lays out Sure6 as an homage to an issue of a zine from the early ’90s that used this same interviewing format and questions — Elle36 points out that zine coverage in the media is often relegated to ‘inane questions coming from someone trying to grasp the concept of zines and why people made them.’ Sure6 stands out as an antidote to this, ask-ing questions about how individuals’ zines are received by their family and communities, how healthy they feel Australian zine culture is, and best and worst trades people have received. I particularly appreciated reading how interviewees felt about government involvement in zine culture — the phenomena of government programs using the iconography of zine art in campaigns that target youth. As well, doling out grant money to non-profits for zine making projects is something that’s just as active in Canada as it seems to be in Australia, and the range of sentiments about it expressed in Sure6 are useful fodder for your own interrogations of the issue. I’m not familiar with any of the work of the zine-makers showcased, but it wasn’t an impediment to my enjoyment of this zine — it’s novel to see the creative process of a variety of individuals explored at length, and sparked my interest in tracking down people’s work. These are also conversations that I’ve had at small press events around the country, so it’s nice to see a snapshot of folks in other places having similar dialogue. (Sarah Pinder)
Zine, Elle36, c/o Sticky, PO Box 310, Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VC, 8009, Australia, [email protected] stickyinstitute.com, $3.50 AUS