One question, nine answers: using zines for documentation, awaiting responses in turbulent times
In Milan Kundera's Exercises in Style, the same story is told in a hundred different ways, injecting literary imagination into an otherwise ordinary and mundane life, suspending fragments of one's existence in space, and viewing them from a distance to detach from reality.
In the eponymous collection of zines by HKZZP.TBC Hong Kong Zine Creators Collective, a similar approach is taken, posing questions to nine zine creators through interviews. Similar questions record their respective inspirations, creative processes, and practical tips on zine making, etc., to popularize zines and creation from different creative perspectives.
The Hidden "Messy Collective"
The most interesting aspect of publishing zines is that, regardless of how much the creators love or reluctantly imagine Hong Kong, the HKZZP.TBC publishing team packages all the contents—featuring Riso printing, varying sizes, and different colored papers—into a serious kraft envelope, almost like "evidence." Before it's opened, you can't see the creators, their answers, or their works. Each zine introduces a Hong Kong creator, and the random placement of the nine books, when we open the envelope, is much like flipping through records from a certain period in Hong Kong, seemingly creating an intentional or unintentional illusion of "evidence."
©hkzzp.tbc
Limited Formats to Prove Diversity
Essentially, a zine is a diverse art form, using expressive techniques to reflect diverse publishing freedom. However, this seemingly free approach is often limited by size and paper choices. Similarly, in HKZZP.TBC, one can observe publishing restraint; each zine is neatly cut and bound, with differences in size and paper serving only to distinguish creators. Readers must view all content to understand their imaginations of the place. Interestingly, more than half of the creators have connections abroad, accurately reflecting Hong Kong's current reality and diverse voices.
The creative questions in the book are very worldly. Behind the continuous questioning, there is a message reminding us of the "certain state" we are currently in. The various answers may point beyond creation and art, perhaps referring to an imagined collective in a post-turmoil era. What is our connection with these nine creators? We cannot communicate across space, because we are similarly restricted by that kraft paper bag, only able to circulate them through replication and dissemination.
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