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Print Never Dies: Issue one

Paying respect to printed matter

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Print Never Dies is a new column written by Acclaim’s art director Paul in which he rounds up the best of print publishing. With a healthy dose of nepotism, here is his first attempt—a selection of publications acquired over the last few months:

  • By: Paul Allworthy

01. 1Punch

From the makers of Crunch Time and Lost on Earth comes this limited run zine that represents everything I love about independent publishing: a complete disregard for convention along with a desire to make something and put it out in to the world .

The creator was holding down a stall at the NGV Art Book Fair (a scene where boujee art and local skate rat crowds collide) when I stumbled upon it. I tried to get the lowdown but the best explanation I could get was, “It’s just some old photos I threw together,” before he spent 20 minutes talking to me about the design of the price list he made the previous day.

1Punch is a collection of photography, graf, paintings, and sketches with a foreword by none other than Justin Timberlake. It’s pretty loose, and I mean that in the best possible way. From an art direction perspective the tape on the spine really makes it, and the cover illustrations pop harder than a pack of mentos in a bottle of Diet Coke.

Stats: A5, 60 pages, black and white, bound with staples and barricade tape. Edition of 50.

Published by: Mind Head 

02. Okay but

“An incomplete and imperfect edit of the forty-fifth president’s tweets.”

A simultaneously hilarious and educational critique of Donald Trump’s grammatical shortcomings, that also makes me afraid to ever write anything in the public domain. Sidenote: if you google ‘grammatical shortcomings’, old mate Donald ranks second. Everyone enjoys a good laugh at Trump’s expense, but it doesn’t usually involve questioning if you truly understand the meaning of dangling modifier, or what a comma splice even is. And have I used one in this article? Probably. (Full disclosure: I am not and have never pretended to be a writer. Apart from now. Kind of.)

Stats: A5, 28 pages, saddle stitched, Riso printed black on pink paper, with blue on white cover.

by Meredith Forrester
Published by: Meredith Forrester

03. At Shallows

This one is pretty small, coming in at A6 size and only 20 pages long, but it made me feel a certain kind of way. The close cropped, detailed nature shots definitely make the size feel appropriate. There’s no info other than the book’s title so feeling is all you have to go on anyway. At least for me, that’s what it’s all about.

Stats: A6, 20 pages, saddle stitched on uncoated stock. Edition of 200.

by Tetsuya Yamakawa
Published by: Commune Press

04. “In an Avalanche no single snowflake feels responsible”

This zine is an exploration of Stone Island’s relationship with the football casuals movement and the rise and fall of football hooliganism in Europe. The link saw the brand fall out of favour with the fashion industry, become re-appropriated, and take on a whole new identity. Snowflake documents Stone island’s adoption by football subcultures in the early ‘90s to its current resurgence and embrace by rappers and celebs. It’s an interesting idea that in the modern age of marketing, a carefully positioned brand can have its perception completely altered by the people who choose to adopt it.

Stats: 140mm x 200mm, 60 pages, saddle stitched on uncoated stock. Edition of 30.

by Tim Coghlan & Callum Vass
Published by: Knowledge Editions 

05. PhotoFile

Published by The Australian Centre for Photography, issue 98 of Photofile sees the relaunch of Australia’s oldest photography magazine with a fresh new vibe and layout. The typography is particularly on point. Top picks include a conversation between Cristina di Middel and Marcela Sancari, a feature on Sim Chi Yin’s photo series Dying to Breathe, and a profile on Jesse Lizotte’s photobook No Love Lost.

Stats: 210mm x 280mm, 128 Pages, perfect bound on a mix of coated and uncoated stock.

Published by: Australian Centre for Photography

06. Norse

This is the first in a series of black and white zines released every Thursday throughout the month of March. The remote location of Iceland, the last bastion of the ancient Norse religion, made it the last of the Scandinavian countries to give way to Christianity in the 13th Century. Jacob Wallwork’s stark portrayal of Europe’s most sparsely populated country has a feeling of isolation that really puts that detachment into perspective. Whilst not devoid of humanity or beauty, it has a solitude that appropriately feels like you are visiting the ends of the Earth. I feel cold just looking at this and it’s 22 degrees in here.

Stats: A5, 28 pages, saddle stitched on uncoated recycled stock. Edition of 100 – with each cover hand-stamped.

by Jacob Wallwork
Published by: Bloom Publishing

07. Good Morning

“Salaryman – It was his very first job interview. He heard on the radio that the colour blue is supposed to make you appear reassuring and confident.” I love the little stories that accompany Andy Rementer’s bold and colourful illustrations, which really do most of the talking. This was another great pickup from Commune Press.

Stats: A5, 32 pages, saddle stitched on uncoated stock. 2nd edition of 200.

by Andy Rementer
Published by: Commune Press

08. Some Stories

A book of short stories by Acclaim Issue 36 guest editor Max Olijnyk. Like I said, there’d be some nepotism involved. You can read one of them here. There’s also one in here. Max is just a really really good writer. He can turn the pedestrian into something strangely compelling. His concise and punchy prose keeps you hooked and it’s hard to read this book without a smile on your face. A completely unbiased opinion, of course.

Stat: 127mm x 204mm, 116 pages, perfect bound on uncoated stock with gloss cover.

by Max Olijnyk
Published by: Freddo Books

09. Karakia

Nepotism round 2. Ben shot the Kaytranada cover photo for Acclaim issue 36 and is a long time friend and collaborator of Acclaim. This book is a collaboration between him and his mother Sallyann Clement, who is also a photographer.

The selected works were taken from a five-year period of Sallyann’s career during the ’80s, following her travels throughout the vast National Parks of New Zealand to the cobbled streets of Western Europe. It is interesting to see the influence and similarities in style between Sallyann and Ben, whose images were taken over the same time frame 20 years later, tracing a similar geographical path. It’s a pretty cool backstory that gives the book an epic, multi-generational context. The passing of time plays heavily on my mind whenever I pick it up, which I guess is something that is at the essence of photography. I’m not sure which Clement was responsible for the cover shot but it’s a dope photo. Another completely unbiased opinion, of course.

Stats: 195mm x 265mm, 64 pages, perfect bound on coated stock with uncoated dust jacket cover.

by Ben Clement & Sallyann Clement
Published by: Bloom Publishing

010. COLORS

In terms of art direction and photography, this is in GOAT territory. With graphic design great Tibor Kalman and controversial advertising photographer Oliviero Toscani as founding members—it would be hard to go wrong. ‘A magazine about the rest of the world’, that picks themes around multiculturalism and global awareness and sticks to them tightly with concise writing and outstanding photo-journalism.

I picked up these older copies from Bookhouse. The typography is very of it’s time but I’m not mad about that at all. It’s expressive, and considered, and the COLORS masthead is playful, solid, and timeless (demonstrated by the fact it has been in use since the magazines 1991 inception to the present day).

Funded by United Colors of Benetton means I guess you could call this branded content. Benetton is a rare company that aren’t afraid of controversy and used the publication to promote messages of unity and tolerance. I mean, they ultimately did it to sell clothes, depending on how cynical you want to be—but to have a brand with their outlook back your publication and take away the worry of appeasing a variety of advertisers obviously grants the editorial team a certain degree of freedom. A freedom that allowed them to do things like publish a graphic photo of Roadkill on the front cover. It pushes buttons, pushes the envelope, and it makes you feel something—even if that feeling might not always be particularly pleasant.

Stats: Issue 8: 251mm x 345mm, 124 pages, perfect bound on uncoated stock; Issue 19: 232mm x 302mm, 82 pages, perfect bound on semi-coated stock

by COLORS
Published by: Benetton Group