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Melbourne Inspiration

Review for the Sticky Institute Melbourne : Cut up the old

I came to this zine wanting it to be inspirational, something about clearing out the cobwebs cutting up the old paper and making something new. Hopeful that it would be ghetto from the cover inwards but instead i was greeted with a soft computer typed zine about love and loneliness. Subjects that i don't really want to deal with right now, so i will let you have the blog address and leave it at that i think it says it all.

lifeasawhitepicketfence.wordpress.com

Review for the Sticky Institute Melbourne : Realia by HotRodLibrarian (Issue 2 Childhood)

Loving the recycled book cover but i really feel the need to re recycle it into art; maybe later once i have fully digested the information inside. Can fully understand where this one is coming from as i am writing this review while sat in a house being a housewife in the suburbs far enough from the city that i feel totally isolated. Like i said i really know where this one is coming from but all the swearing actually written down is pretty harsh. What strikes me about this writer is that she really really has plenty to say and its straight up to the point personal hard hitting honesty. She really wants to share her motherly wisdom to help the rest of us feel better about things. Certainly not sitting on the fence this hot rod librarian has got some things to say about bringing up children properly. I must say i agree with pretty much everything in the zine and anything that makes me laugh out loud is good news living out here in the suburbs. I'll definitely not cut up the cover to make more art works but i might follow the directions on how to make my own play dough!

Review for the Sticky Institute Melbourne : Success Stories by wishes to remain anonymous : Elle

To say that i'm a fan of the cut and paste aesthetic is a little bit of an understatement. So this cut and pasted, photocopier as an instrument zine is right up my street. I'm not sucking up but the writitng in this zine is way more insightful than the usual i hate this i hate that i'm cool your not; kind of zine writing i usually read. As i'm writing this i'm literally getting seriously distracted reading the miniature hand written writing on every page of this simply beautiful little thing that is just reality distilled into paper. A real person writing down her woes, her ideas her hopes and dreams. if only the manager of Fuji Xerox could read this. He would understand, he would understand everything. 

The thing about paper is: if someone really reads your stuff, or if you make music... if someone really really listens to your music. they read your words then they talk to you about it from the heart. that is why you write, just for that one person... that one person every now and then who really understands. they read it and they say yes i got it . Zines are about conversations they are about working together to create something that can be shared. Something thats actually worth sharing. The more i read of this zine the more i realize that its much deeper than just paper. its history , dreams , hopes , success stories and struggles all beautifully written and laid out. you just have to read it and you will understand. i was thinking 300 copies ? whoa thats a bit wild . . . now i understand . i'm just hoping that the people who get hold of one of these do actually read it all the way to the back. So by the time you get to the disclaimer you pretty much know everything all the heart felt words have been spilt beautifully all over the page. Success Stories is the kind of zine that needs a soundtrack with music, interspersed with silence and space,  Much like our lives . 

Review for the Sticky Institute Melbourne : LASER STAN By Cameron Baker

 This is Stan 

He is a goodie 

To really appreciate some things you need to hold them in your hands. Watch the flow unfold as you flip, find the hidden extras and enjoy the detail and effort that went into producing this simple but intricate work.  Laser Stan is a storybook its detail and impact is memorable as the work of David Shrigley Andy Riley or even George Lucas. I'm not sure if every copy comes with a poster but mine is going on the fridge. Explosive full colour cartoon gem, i'm looking forward to the next character Cameron Baker creates.

Review for the Sticky Institute Melbourne : FULSOME PRISM #2 by Fulsome Prism

FULSOME PRISM #2

I cant help noticing when i open up a zine that its upside down. You know when your sat on a train people look at you funny they think why the hell is that guy reading that magazine upside down, (is he crazy?) can he read upside down? well the answer is yes i can read upside down and actually its quite fun drawing and writing upside down as you get more into the shapes of the words and the shape of the subject rather than getting caught up in thinking about how your mind usually processes information. On first impressions this zine looks like its going to be really exciting after i have taken the staples out got a bit of pain trying to put the staples back in with the cover turned the right way now... so i don't draw attention to myself too much on the train i now start to read the zine and it has way too many words. which is making me think maybe this review should have been short and sweet rather than long and painful. in the past i have written some reviews of techno records for Boomkat and some of those reviews were very uncomfortable due to the indifference to the music involved this is not going to be painful. Page 3 usually has a naked girl on it but instead i'm greeted with Captain Beefheart which is much more pleasant than what i could have been delt. Other subjects include The Cuban Boys (not really a fan) What i'm reading which sort of reviews books by Kurt Vonnegut, Charles Saatchi and Maude Farrugla. So if you can get into the simple 1 bit images there are actually lots of interesting nuggets of information captured by this zinester and if you have the time to read his blog you might find out a whole world of information written by an interesting and well informed blogger. his review of the stolen sharpie revolution 2 book  is almost as interesting a read as the book itself. 

www.fulsomeprism.wordpress.com

Review for the Sticky Institute Melbourne : TEEF. Zine By Joe Miranda

TEEF.

I have been thinking words... overrated, lots of words... even more so. Teef, is the way you say teeth while you are actually brushing your teeth, its a voyeurs visual guide to a few special moments shared probably just before bedtime with some close friends. Joe's friend Bruce has a cool looking jumper on on the front cover doing his teeth brushing pose. i'm glad he didnt over intellectualize this study into peoples late night teeth rubbing habits with meaningful words. Teef zine is poetry with light and toothpaste.

www.joemiranda.co.uk