This week’s #zine #review is of “High Tech Low Life: Cyberpunk Photography Zine” by Lucius Felimus (@luciusfelimus-nox on tumblr, @luciusfelimus.nox on instagram)!
Victor (victorly at itch.io) gave me this zine. I'm grateful for it. This zine is printed on glossy photo paper. It's beautiful. I've taken a while to write this review because there were deep themes here that I wanted to reflect on.
Lucius Felimus is a Filipino artist. In the introduction to this zine, he talks about the way technology illuminates the class divides of cyberpunk settings. The spirit of cyberpunk is found in real lives that real people live.
This zine shares photographs from Metro Manila in the Philippines. The neon lights drew my attention on every page -- then I looked at the parts that weren't lit so brightly. This was often where the people were: kids in masks, workers, shoppers at a night market. The scenes shown here aren't an empty sandbox for a video game protagonist to play around in.
Hello,
I have exciting news: my zine “Leap!” will be exhibited at an event called Booked 2022 in Helsinki! “Leap!” is my first photography focused zine I put together back in January 2022 and it is a project I’m very proud of. Its interesting to see something so personal make its way into a public space. In this week’s post I wanted to share a little about this zine without giving too much away.
To put it simply, Leap! is about my permanent move from Canada to Finland to live with my partner after five years of semi-long distance relationship. In other words it attempts to celebrate a new chapter in my life. Here is some info about the book:
48pages / 210mm x 133mm
Thread sewn binding
Matte paper 130gm
All of the pictures in this book have a dark tone but I think that reflects Finnish winter pretty well. I wish there were more light but it is what it is (I like this saying). By contrast, I always get a warm feeling when looking at them since they are essentially ordinary everyday things that me and my partner enjoy doing, one of those being long outdoors walks in nature.
You might be wondering about the hare on the cover. There are pictures and paintings of hares scattered throughout the book. I noticed when I was looking through my archive for the initial selection of images I noticed how many pictures of hares there were. They were mostly shot through a window since, if I were to open the door it would skip away instantly. I noticed them quite often, so it probably meant something right? I sometimes like to look up symbolism and meanings for things and I read that the hare represented new beginnings. I thought it fit and I rolled with it.
This project made me realize how much I enjoyed putting images together into a book. I’ve been a book collector since my early teens, collecting books from artists I like, old and new as well as picture books. Aside from the art itself, the image placement, end paper selection, paper weight, the binding and much more are what excite me. It seemed like only a matter of time before I started making my own. I wondered for a long time why I enjoyed books so much - I haven’t come to a conclusion but it is probably has something to do with it being tactile.
For those curious about cameras - I used my trusty Fujifilm XT1 with a 23mm F2 for all the images (I think). To my surprise it survived daily use in sub-zero temperatures as well as heavy snowfall!
Lastly, as much as I doubt anyone in the right area will see this (It always feels like I’m speaking into the void), here’s the information for the event just in case. The event will carry some copies of Leap! for sale as well.
26 November - 18 December 2022
MUU Helsinki Contemporary Art Centre
Cable Factory, Tallberginkatu 1 C, Helsinki
If you’re not in the area but are interested in buying a copy. Just send me a DM! The money will go to printing costs on future books or zines since I’d like to keep this ball rolling.
One day I’d like to talk more in detail about how the idea developed the picture selection process as well as inspirations behind the sequencing and design (My favorite part) but for now this preview will do.
This week's #zine #review is of "Laguna Skies: A Photography Zine" by Victor Malamutya! Other zines from this zinester can be found at victorly.itch.io !
This zine is bound with thread! I love when zines have this.
In this piece, Victor shares photographs of places around the Philippines. They’re labeled with the year taken and the place. The colors here shine, very pleasing to the eyes. My favorite picture is one from San Pedro in 2016: a house under a street light. The composition here makes the house seem warm, safe — a home.