Zines (pronounced zeens) are DIY, self-published booklets or magazines that our Year 11 Media classes have been exploring as part of their unit on Media Forms in Production.
Working in small groups under the expert guidance of our Art Technician, Liam (a zine publisher himself), students collaborated to create zines about the seven Wurundjeri seasons of our local area.
Using paper, glue, scissors, and our hard-working photocopier/scanner, students combined source material and Indigenous knowledge gathered from Museums Victoria with their own found imagery. This blend of first-person accounts and visual material highlighted the unique natural changes in flora and fauna and weather patterns experienced in our local area throughout the year.
As zines often break the conventions of traditional print media, students explored the creative possibilities of the photocopier by scanning and printing their collages using duotone print experimentation. This process created more colourful and stylised final products while highlighting the dominant colours associated with each season.
Amazingly, all of this was completed in a single 75-minute lesson!
Both students and staff were incredibly proud of the final outcomes. For some students, this project has piqued a new interest in this unique print media form, possibly inspiring them to continue developing their skills to create a zine for their Year 12 SAT next year.
These zines will be on display and available to browse at our Art Show later in the year.
Mark Jenkinson
Design, Art and Technology Learning Leader
