ZINE REVIEW: Inside

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INSIDE is a complex construction zine produced by Christine Baese. Though it measures a small 3.5 x 4.25" at first glance, each side has a fold out that opens to a full 8.5 x 11". The fold is complex..the initial folds open to words or images, then when you totally unfold the paper there is more text with images inside. This is not a "fluff zine". This zine makes me think and see something new each time I look at it.

Side 1 intoduces us to the writer..."sometimes I meet people but they don't meet me. They are too caught up in the freak show. I am the fat lady". Inside the "door folds" is commentary about freak shows and the people who partake in them, and how society looks at people outside the norm as freaks, or how we ourselves feel like a freak because we have too much or not enough of something. OUCH. Sad, but true. As a person who was handicapped last summer in a wheel chair, I know all to well how it feels to be looked though, not helped, and considered something less than human. I tried to be normal, but felt defeated by the many physical and emotional roadblocks I encountered along the way. She also includes a list of zines to check out and the information on where to find this folding method. Christine tells us that this is her first zine, and that she has learned much from the process.

Side 2 states: "what they miss is inside". When you unfold that sheet there are photos and texts about some of the freaks. What is powerful is Christine puts in a photo whose face has been replaced with a mini mirror and a spot to write "Your story here".

Between the cardstock that is stapled together to hold these two folds is some cut up words and paper scraps. On first glance I thought it was something to use in my work... however as I examined them closer, I realized these were not randomly selected; each word and picture had a direct correlation to the zine and its message.

INSIDE has a duplicitous meaning; deep inside the folds are layers of sad and painful messages and stories....making this zine a work of art and as thought provoking as any I have seen.

Bravo Christine!

Christine can be reached at Mujeralborde@hotmail.com

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