Expressing creativity through zines

Hyderabad: A zine workshop took place at Lamakaan on Tuesday evening where Riya Behl from Mumbai and Devashree Somani from Hyderabad came across with the curious idea of zines.

About 30 youngsters from various parts of the city came to join the workshop. They were curious about zine making and they wanted to explore more about what zine is.

Riya and Devashree are recent graduates of Ashoka University, currently engaging in the development sector.

Riya has been lucky to be a part of zine-making workshops with other crafty, curious zinesters in Delhi, Chennai, and Mumbai; she is eager to create in Hyderabad too.

Devashree is a long-time fan and beginner level zine-maker. She is excited to share a space of solidarity and creativity.

At the beginning of the workshop, the organisers explained about the history and origin of zine culture. They said: 'Self-publishing has been a method closely associated with several art movements in the 20th century.

In journals, magazines, leaflets, and mail-art, artists employed techniques such as collages, bricolages, and detournement of magazine images and had a strong influence on zine editors later on.

Since the 1990s, many young artists use zines to create their own creative spaces, distribution networks and audiences independent of the established gallery and exhibit system.'

All the participants introduced themselves and also spoke about their interest about zine making. The participants looked passionate and keen when they were making zines, using the material that was provided.

The workshop solely focused on the young people's creativity for zine making. As young people, who are on the journey of finding their voices in a country struggling to uphold the values of a democracy, they would like to democratise the process of making art with the participants.

The focus of this workshop was 'Hope in struggle'. They also taught about technique of making zines following which, participants have start working on individual zines.

According to the organisers, the interest in zines stems from an interest in subculture expression and self-publishing. The idea of people crafting printed works with their hands is extremely fascinating, an individual endeavour fuelled by a thirst for self-expression and the desire to be understood.

The power of self-publishing, and the popularity of this ideal in our current age, is extremely interesting.

' We have fostered a small gathering in Hyderabad and in Holland and we hope to carry this with us wherever we go. It would be impossible for such a thing to happen without Lamakaan, ' said Riya Behl, the organiser of the workshop.

At the end of the workshop, they made photocopies for each other to swap - in original zine-style that removed money from the exchange of ideas - and hopefully, keep sharing through this form.