To celebrate International Zine Month, an exhibition at a suburban venue explores a range of editions from across the globe from a collection built over two decades
A few zines from Bombay Underground’s collection
Zines — self-published, sometimes hand-made, printed or made in small batches — are increasingly cropping up and being sold online, at indie stores and pop-ups, and on social media. That is because anyone from anywhere can make a zine. One of the most popular zine platforms in Mumbai that champions this method of creation is Bombay Underground, a community space for zinesters that sells a wide range of work from Indian and international creators. Their next pop-up extends to an exhibition called A to Zine where the platform will showcase over 300 zines from across the world that have been in their collection for over 20 years.
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Founders of the platform, Aqui Thami and Himanshu S
Himanshu S, co-founder of Bombay Underground says, “There will be zines from the 1960s and ’70s, some that I have exchanged with fellow makers, others that I’ve collected while travelling.” Karan Talwar, founder of Harkat Studios, speaks of a reading-room-styled exhibition where visitors can find a nook and spend hours immersed in pages. If you’re looking to start your own collection, Bombay Underground will be putting over 100 zines up for sale. Expect a mix of old and new creations from independent makers.
Karan Talwar
At a time when expression and choice have been restrained, policed, and stand on paradoxical grounds, the world of zines offers its maker the space to express thoughts in the words and manner intended. The 41-year-old co-founder shares, “There will be a variety of zines — comics, drawings, written word, personal mingled with the political.” Talwar continues, “Zines are a huge medium as far as independent publishing goes. It’s book-making that operates completely out of the bounds of bookstores and large corporations that can potentially control what you say, how you say it and what format you get to say it in.” The two also highlight the experience of reading a physical zine; makers ensure the stories that find their way into a zine are ultimately experiences of design language, font, paper texture, drawings and honest accounts that otherwise might not have been told.
On July 1 to 3; 2 pm to 8 pm
At Harkat Studios, Aram Nagar, Versova, Andheri West.
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