How You Should Make Cement For Mending Stones
A 120 page book released in co-operation with Napa Books.
Includes the essence of the following publications:
Pegasus Dwarf Irregular Galaxy (Kaugummi Books, 2008)
Sans Toit Ni Loi (Kaugummi Books, 2008)
Kievan Rus (DIY zine, 2009)
Also includes lots of previously unreleased material.
BUY
An interview on the book and other things
with Jessica Williams.
1. How long have you been making zines? What is it about the format that attracts you?
The first zine I participated in was called News from Earth. It was a zine made in this awesome kindergarten I was in when I was 6 years old. Everyone had one page with a story and an illustration of the story. I wrote about this scientist who travels to an island just to have a squirrel drop a coconut on his head. I like how the zine culture was kind of defined by the sudden availability of photocopiers and how that relates to the late 70's punk scene . I think it's a good and relatable tradition to continue. I like the spontaniety of putting together a zine in one day, making 5-10 copies and giving them away.2. How do things change in the book format compared to the zine originals?
I think in this case the book is maybe less cohesive, but it has this narrative element that the zines didn't have. You can see the style evolving from zine to zine since they are in chronological order mostly. The book has cream-coloured paper and is printed with a very dark brown colour instead of black, so that changes at least some of the images drastically. It's not easy to describe but I think in the book the images for some reason have more weight.3. What does the black mean between the zines (it makes it feel a whole lot different than if it were white)?
I think I just tried to make this clear distinction to where one zine ends and another begins, but it didn't really work that way. I'm actually glad it didn't now, since I think the zines blending into each other makes it more interesting. Another reason I prefer the black ( or brown, actually) is that it gives the whole book a deeper atmosphere, there's something 15th century about it for me.4. I've noticed you make a lot of collaborative zines and projects. what about this process intrigues you? Is it possibly similar to your admiration of the punk/d.i.y. aesthetic?
For me collaboration is a form of trading ideas and methods and picking up new processes. I think it's a good alternative to the more traditional teacher-student way of learning. I guess in that sense it relates to the D.I.Y. thing, that it's like a D.I.Y. art school, finding people to learn from and also hopefully giving them some new ideas. I also think that it's a bit sad how solitary making art often is, and I want to find ways to go around that. I'm interested in how people communicate with each other and I deal with social relations a lot in my work. It feels natural to use collaboration as a way to study those themes.5. Another interesting difference between your zines and this book is the physicality of it. It is thick, even though the pages are thin--does this represent something for you?
I think the zines are more in the present tense and the book in a past tense, if that makes sense. Like even going through the printing process with the book takes so long that it's already history when it has been printed. I think the difference is quite difficult to articulate well, but there definitely is one. I wanted very thin uncoated paper so that an image printed on one side of the page would show on the other side as a sort of ghost image. I think it gives it warmth like it's an old paperback instead of something more sleek and cold.6. What are some of your inspirations?
Hmm, I guess they change a lot. When I try to name inspirations I always end up listing things that I really like, which is not the same thing at all. I guess recently Sci-Fi movies, both serious and less serious, like Brazil, Back to The Future, Alien 3, Blade Runner, Zardoz, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Fahrenheit 451 etc. Also artists like Santiago Sierra and Sophie Calle. I just read the interview book that Truffaut did with Albert Hitchcock. I found it very interesting especially in relation to making comics. An animation called Hobo Clown by Allison Schulnik is maybe the best thing I've seen in months.7. I can definitely see the sci-fi influence in your work--especially in your text pieces. Do you think of your text work separate from your drawings?
I'm very interested in working with text, but I feel that it's difficult to analyze in any meaningful way. It's only recently that I've even considered it. I have been making comics recently, where text and picture are very much dependent on each other. On the other hand, I want to learn how to write in a very objective way that has nothing to do with art and everything to do with surviving better in a society where writing well helps you get what you want. It's interesting with the sci-fi influence, I don't know if i see it so much myself. Sci-fi is the first genre that made a serious impact on me though. If I'm writing fiction I always find myself looking for this sense of adventure and escapism, which I guess is very prominent in science fiction.8. You also use several mediums in one piece--do you think you do this for similar reasons as collaborations?
It's an ideal for me to be able to use many techniques and have them go together seamlessly. It could have something to do with not wanting to be dependent on any specific method. I don't think the reasons are the same as with the collaborations though. With the techniques I'm more trying to forget about them, go through them in a way. Or that's not it exactly, since I do get inspired by techniques too. With the collaborations it's still a question of something more profound, like fundamental differences, and the techniques are more about choosing the best way to channel some ideas. Right now I'm actually trying to simplify and only work in one medium at a time.9. Finally, what are you up to next?
I have a lot of stuff coming up, new zines and exhibitions and so, but I'm trying not to think about them. I want freedom and time to experiment. I don't feel a need to work on anything particular now, which I think is good. Anything could be interesting. I want to stay in this mode where my work just kind of happens and I only later become aware of the direction I'm taking.