Artzine, Nancy Zhang, nancyzhang.net
In this collection of illustrations, artist/illustrator/jewelry maker Nancy Zhang invites you to search through and colour her world. Three panels of illustrations function as a seek-and-find project in black-and-white. The panels all differ but have a consistent theme of surreal futuristic escapism. It feels like a hipster version of an anime-styled issue of Highlights magazine.
The first panel, showcasing black outlines on a white background, feels as if it exists on the ground, with skinny Whoville-esque houses, funky faces and fluffy clouds. In this panel you are asked to find a door, flag, camera, mic, and TV. It is our world as Dr. Seuss might see it — only better.
The second panel, also showing black outlines on a white background, exists in the sky, with clouds at the base and full-on robots and robot-cars flying high. In this panel you are tasked with finding sushi, a frog, carrot, and beer. Both of these panels are accessible to youth and adults, and it demands you put away your crossword and sit down with a box of pencil crayons.
The final panel has the viewer firmly in space, with white outlines on a black background coming together to form a futuristic community with rocket ships, UFOs, and stars. The element of community is consistent through this zine. Though the images are not realistic, they feel like home. (CJ Blennerhassett)