All About Zines (and other creations): March Issue

All About Zines (and other creations): March Issue by Katia DermottMarch 16, 2025

“PIX, an ongoing collaborative photography project, presents its latest zine, PIX 039 featuring Alexa Chung. Since its inception in 2019, PIX has been a platform for visual dialogue, where artists respond to a prompt image with unique interpretations. Curated by Pete Voelker, each zine features 30 photographic responses, fostering a creative exchange that bridges personal perspectives. Notable contributors like Alexa Chung and Joe Skilton bring their distinct voices to the project, reinforcing PIX’s reputation for artistic collaboration.

Published by Spotz, an imprint founded by Voelker, PIX zines embody the intersection of photography and community, offering both emerging and established artists a space to share their work. With over 600 participants featured to date, including renowned photographers like Ryan McGinley and Ethan James Green, PIX continues to push the boundaries of visual storytelling. Each limited-edition zine is a carefully curated narrative, contributing to the project’s mission of building connections through photography.”

5 x 8 inches
100lb Cover Satin Paper
Matte laminate
100lb text uncoated inside pages
30 Photographs
Printed and bound in the USA
Edition of 500

Contributing artists: Alexa Chung, Julija Golubeva, Sam Hiscox, Sara Camponez, Taryn Segal, Tara White, Emily Kollath, Zoe Young, Dylan Pearce, Isabel MacCarthy, Olivia Gilmore, Jessica Eu, Leith Clark, Chad Moore, Sumayya Sideek, Anissa Tavara, Stephanie Laichi, William Yan, Christian Felber, Mike Graziano, Jamie, Chung, Sol Espinzo, Luisa Opalesky, Laura Prieto, Matt Hitt, Arina Butiu, Albaraa Haddad, Charlotte Lester, Maria Zervaki, Pete Voelker

When I asked Pete Voelker of Spotz Studios how he first discovered zines, Voelker wrote:

I first got into zines back in 2002 at an anti-war protest, just before the U.S. invaded Iraq. I was a high school freshman, and the zines I picked up were packed with anti-capitalist and anti-war ideas—things I hadn’t really seen outside of music. They were mostly filled with literature, but the illustrations, political cartoons, and photography made everything feel so attainable. That DIY culture and the drive to educate and empower really stuck with me, shaping a lot of what I ended up doing later.

I studied print and book making in my undergraduate years and started making my own zines and artist books. After school I abused my access to Ryan McGinley’s laser printer when I worked for him from 2008 to 2012 (he was the only person I knew with one!). In 2014, I launched Spot Zine, my first attempt at a serial publication that mixed photography, music, and community events. Eventually, Spot Zine evolved into my publishing imprint, Spotz, which led to PIX—a photo series built around bringing different perspectives together.

For me, collaboration is key. PIX is all about uniting voices and encouraging dialogue. That sense of community—of people coming together around shared interests—has always been at the core of my practice. It started with those early zine experiences, and it’s still what drives me today.

Tragedy

“Modern life is sprinkled with moments of melodrama. Tragedy is a zine by artist Polly Brown, created to call our relationship with emotional performance into sharp relief. In this tragicomic portrait series, the artist invites ten actors to cry on cue. Full shiny tears and quiet strangled sobs ensue. Falling somewhere between the aesthetics of internet stock imagery and thespian headshots, the series asks the question: is there something to be gleaned from forcing tears?”

Printed on 80gsm Evercolour
Pages: 16
Orientation: Portrait
Dimensions: 14 cm x 20 cm
Format: Softcover / Saddle-stitch binding

Contributing artists: Polly Brown

© Polly Brown, Tragedy, Hato Press, 2023

That Was Fun

In the spring of 2023 I drove from Maine to the site of the 1947 incident in Roswell, New Mexico. I’ve always been fascinated by the myths and conspiracies associated with this place. Along the way I stopped at roadside memorials, historical markers and the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas. The 4×5 film was later double exposed using lasers and portions of the film were blocked using found objects. The zine features musings and stories from this trip, hand-written on tracing paper. Each iteration of these stories are slightly different, making each zine a unique part of a whole.

Contributing artists: Harlan Crichton

© Harlan Crichton, That Was Fun, self-published, 2023

When I asked Harlan Crichton how he first discovered zines, Crichton wrote:

The first zine I remember having a connection with was Alec Soth’s “The Loneliest Man in Missouri.” It felt more playful and less rigid than the larger book it came in, while still having powerful images and narrative.

Incandescent

“Incandescent was a submission-based bi-annual zine promoting analog color work by emerging photographers. It was edited and produced by Pine Island Press and is currently on Hiatus after 20 issues. The publication was created to share new photography at an affordable price without asking for submission fees. Dreamt up in 2011 by Michael Cardiello, Marissa Csanyi, and Helen Jones it was run by Helen and various guest editors up till 2022. Over the years, it was based out of an attic, a basement, a car, and a travel trailer. Although it was a shoestring project, we feel it had beautiful results. We had the honor of sharing the work of more than 350 photographers from 50 countries around the world!

Issue Fifteen was released in the Winter/Spring of 2019, it was edited by Anna Knecht Schwarzer and Helen Jones and included some wonderful work by nineteen artists. Each issue featured a few longer series within the mix of images. The cover image is from one such series ‘Chasing Light’ a collaborative photography project between twin siblings, Bianca and riel Sturchio. They use photography to analyze intersections between disability, queerness, and identity. Each issue also included an introduction by a writer. Although the call was open and there was no theme the writers often found connecting threads throughout the works, and the title of the forward also became the title of the Issue. The forward for issue fifteen ‘To Approach Stillness’ was by Bianca Butler. It is now sold out.”

Contributing artists: Poli Blum, Ally Caple, Christiana Caro, Carmen Colombo, Catherine J. Davis, Lisa Gidley, Justine Higgins, Mitchell Hurst, Clay Maxwell Jordan, Nick Kozak, John Murphy, Kelli Pennington, Evan Perkins, Claudio Rasano, Tom Rees, Cody Schlabaugh, Sarah P. Smith, riel and Bianca Sturchio, Bianca Butler

When I asked Pine Island Press why make zines, they wrote:

Zines are about access. It’s a way to take home work from a photographer or group of photographers without spending an arm and a leg. There is something really special about seeing things in print and tangible. And with Incandescent, I think there is something really nice about putting photographers’ work from all over in conversation with each other on the page.