To Have and to Hold

In DIY culture I see different artistic disciplines coming together for one aim. That aim is the tangible zine. The goal is not to produce material that ends up being binary code that you can’t feel. We want to hold the completed project. DIY culture is definitely a tactile experience. It’s communal and intimate. Writing, photography, and graphic design coalesce to create a distinctive experience from zine to zine. I feel a sense of direction, a pull, that the creators want me to go into. It’s both very conscious and subconscious in DIY culture.

I have always enjoyed holding a piece of art in my hands. Whether that’s a magazine, book, CD, photograph, or graphic novel doesn’t matter. It’s the ability to interact with an object physically that’s quickly becoming harder to find. Our society is moving farther away from those experiences and its great to see that zines still remain true to thier original form. I hope they always will.