Zinester Interview 03
Future Fantasteek! is produced by Jackie Batey,UK
Jackie Batey responds:
How would you describe your zine? I would call Future Fantasteek! A satirical look at what's wrong with modern living. It includes the frustrations of working with other humans, popular anxieties and why computer’s don’t like us. The zine is full of drawings and collages, sometimes presented as fake advertisements or bogus advice, topics skip around but it is rooted firmly in the ‘now’.
What can your zine do that a mainstream publication can't?
A mainstream publication needs to be aware of audience and needs to have marketing potential, i.e. they need to shift a certain number of copies in order to make money. With self-publishing I am free to say what I want to whoever is prepared to listen, this comes with risks such as self-indulgence or finding your voice is a lone one. Bypassing traditional publishing means issues can be produced cheaply and very quickly so current events can be reflected a few days later. After years working as a commercial illustrator, It’s also a joy to have no client breathing down your neck suggesting 'minor' changes and no one saying you can't say "fuck" - even though most of us do say it, at some point. I also think having no boss is liberating artistically and the magic of the internet means you can track down your own audience eventually. It's a liberating and empowering experience creating and distributing your own zine, you feel you have your voice back.
Does the look of a zine matter?
It doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things but I come from an art & design background, so it matters a great deal to me. I am much happier expressing myself using visual communication, I find I can draw what I mean much more effectively than I can write it. Basically, I want everyone to be able to express themselves clearly using the most appropriate tool they can, whether this is writing, singing or drawing. I enjoy the tactility of paper and sketchbooks which is why I use stickers, stamps and collages within my zines, although I do compile everything and edit it all on a computer at the end. I also run the Zineopolis Collection at the University of Portsmouth for the Illustration course, so naturally we focus our collection on zines that are very full of drawings and artwork.
Please recommend a zine for us and tell us why.
I really enjoy the work of the collective Girls Who Draw, in Birmingham, they are coordinated by Karoline Rerrie. The work is often screen printed and humorous, the subjects vary but there is a joyful touch to the work that will always make me smile. http://girlswhodraw.wordpress.com/ I also love Le Dernier Cri, the French collective in Marsaile, who tend to make rather disturbing serigraphs and zines often screen printed and very visual, with a very low print run. The work they produce is very different to what I do, so reading them is like ‘going on holiday’ from yourself. http://www.lederniercri.org/
