Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples
Zines NZ: From punk to present
Bryce Galloway
Massey University Press
RRP $55.00
Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples
One of the almost unrecognised literary / artistic areas of New Zealand culture has been the zine.
Zines, a corruption of magazines or fanzines are non-commercial, self-published, small-circulation booklets, often produced by hand or photocopied in limited editions of often only a few hundred copies. They are derived from anti-establishment, punk-rock music, and other activist cultures, providing a platform for personal expression, niche topics, and marginalized voices.
Even though the zine in New Zealand has been widespread there has been no serious writing about the form. Until now. Bryce Galloway’s “Zines NZ: Punk to present” is written by a zine devotee and is packed with hundreds of images of zine covers and spreads, most of which charm with lopsided collaged energy and all of which possess a singular vision. Zines are so often ephemeral and elusive, and this book’s tribute to so many rich and distinctive voices ensures that their history is not lost.
Some of the early names like Barry Linton and Dylan Horrocks who were major forces early on are mentioned along with others who helped establish the numerous outlets which has seen a plethora of voices over the past forty years.
Galloway says the impetus for the book was largely personal, having been a zine creator himself
“I was interested in finding the thread from today’s plethora of zinefests back to the punk rock zines of early 80s Aotearoa. In 2015 I wrote a rather subjective history of 21st century zines in Aotearoa. I released this as issue 56 of Incredibly Hot Sex with Hideous People, also presenting it at pop culture and bibliographic conferences. I was thinking, who’s qualified, who could I commission to research and write the earlier part of Aotearoa’s zine history? Eventually I decided I should just take the job on myself.”
He acknowledges that the zine has been side-lined by the art/ publishing/ library world. “I’m sure they’ve been looked down upon, but many in the zine scene wouldn’t have it any other way. For all those who celebrate the growth in this media, there’s others who see the shift from scrappy punk zines and zinefests in community halls to zinefests in major galleries and the like as evidence that zines have lost their edge. I don’t think that’s true but there’s something to be said for the aesthetic challenge made by your scrappy punk zines versus your well-crafted Risograph-printed chapbook for example.”
While Galloway has written this history of the zine, he has also included extensive quotes from around fifty other zine creators who expand the history with all the various personal motivations behind the various concepts and designs.
The book is packed with information along with dozens of illustrations from the zines produced by authors / designers who are well-known such as Chris Knox and David Tulloch to lesser known, but prolific names like Sarah Laing and Indira Neville.
Along with being a history of the zine in New Zealand Galloway has provided a personal political and social history of New Zealand featuring significant events and individuals who have helped create change in New Zealand over the last forty years.
New Zealand Arts Review 