Creating a Triangle inspired Zine

In this experiment I attempted to produce a Zine inspired by my research into the triangle.

As a photography undergraduate, I had previously made hand-stitched zines, so for this experiment, I wanted to use a different method. With the triangle as my inspiration, I immediately turned to creatives that use geometric paper folding techniques to attempt to create a zine that encompassed the sense of the triangle in its design. The design for the Zine came from videos that I watched on Turkish Map Fold paper folding. The angles that the folding technique created were very evocative of triangular teeth which surrounded a hidden image as the zine was opened. Also, the unfolded zine appeared very architectural, rather similar to a pop-up book.

I decided to use collage for my visual content because I enjoy the freedom it provides to express oneself and the relatively instantaneous results (in comparison to photography and other art forms). I worked on the Zine at home using old photographic magazines that I had collected.

I particularly liked the concept of unfolding the zine to discover a message within. I was reminded of the folded booklet produced by Ariella Azoulay for her work Potential History, in which she uses a folded photograph to hide elements and change the viewers' understanding until the unfolding reveals the full story. (Azoulay, 2012).

Inspiration for the collage work came from exploring gender expression within printed media and in particular within the photography magazines that I had collected. I was surprised at the quantity of potentially negative (depending on your viewpoint) gender stereotypes on view, in what is a contemporary photographic journal (Source magazine),  and even more so that the images were being produced by female photographers.  Gender stereotypes and gender identity also engaged with earlier research that I had completed into the practice of gendering triangles.

I decided to use images from the magazines cut into triangular shapes, to link the construction of the piece with the semiotic codes inherent in the triangle shape.

The aesthetic of collage work creates an abundance of semiotic codes which potentially hit our retina at the same time, Our brain, however,  is not able to process all of the codes at once. Instead, our eye will be drawn through the work receiving messages as it progresses. These codes are by no means asynchronous but the combination of synchronous and asynchronous translation creates a complex narrative for the viewer.

Folded photograph of the expulsion of Palestinians from Ramle, 1948. by Ariella Aïsha Azoulay 

AZOULAY, A., 2012. Ariella Azoulay: On Photography and Potential History [viewed 07/10/2024]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnJaJK4oAmI

ESCALANTE, J., 2015. Turkish Map Fold | Part One [viewed 07/10/2024]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s-yIDcCLNo

PARSONS, K.E., 2023. Turkish Map Fold Pop up Card and Book [viewed 07/10/2024]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqhc8Hh-npQ