Zines of the Zone

ABOUT

Dossier de présentation / portfolio en français

Introduction

ZINES OF THE ZONE is a nomadic collection of self-published books & zines photo-related.
It is a non-profit project from France, visiting the far corners of Europe in order to meet local artists, organize book-exhibitions, and to share, more largely, the practice of DIY through different installations and events.

A focus on self-publishing: giving visibility to limited publications

In the field of photography, the self-publishing phenomenon is an artistic trend that has known an amazing boom in the past decade. It by-passes the established circuits of publishing and does not only offer pictures to look at, but uses the book as a media in itself. As these objects are produced in limited copies and as they are sold at an affordable price, they catch the attention of many a collector and appear to be quickly sold out, out of reach. Considering this, we had the idea of creating a library.

Touring in Europe: being nomadic and popping-up in different spaces

Our aim is to build a public collection so that anybody can have a look at these publications, whether they are soldout or not. We want to give these objects visibility, render them reachable to anyone, and in that sense, break with the art market. We want to offer a mode of transmission that, unlike virtual plateforms, would give credit to the physical qualities of the books. We do not like borders. This is where the idea of being nomadic came from. Our influences take their roots in the lifestyle of circus artists, tekno travellers, beat generation poets, and gypsies.

We travel with a van, and we organize small tours to show / collect publications. Our collection started with a big european tour, back in 2014 (we organized around 70 events in 30 countries, meeting local publishers, trying to get a deep understanding of the self-publishing scene in Europe). Our collection is unique in the way it reflects the people we met and the countries we visited. As we consider that the stories behind the books are as important as the books, we usually stay around and talk to our visitors. Do not hesitate to come and have a chat.

Exhibitions, music and talks: promoting the idea of Do-it-Yourself

We build DIY wooden installations and expandable shelves to display our collection and we like to stop in different kind of locations (art centres, squats, independent galleries, bars, off-spaces, artist-run spaces, schools, etc). We believe in DIY as a mean of economical, social and political emancipation. And because DIY is not only self-publishing, we also organize concerts, DJsets, performances, talks and workshops, from time to time.

Submissions: contribute to the collection!

If you want to take part to our project, feel free to get in touch / send your book, and be part of our traveling exhibition. Our collection is open, and anybody can drop a book, as long as it fits in criteras (please refer to the "submit" section for more information :)