Zine:

My zine focuses on peoples’ complicated relationship with technology. My goal with this zine was to make it personal and to showcase my own struggles with trying to feel present in the midst of a technology-driven world. I included stories of pivotal moments in my life such as when I was a pre-teen and became completely absorbed in my AOL Instant Messenger, Xanga, or Myspace persona rather than hanging out with people IRL, or when I was 19 and spent a month at an intentional community and was able to disconnect from our modern world, connecting instead with myself and those around me. The latter experience had a large impact on how I see the world and prioritize aspects of my life, so I wanted to pay homage to that by modeling this zine after Ram Dass’s book, “Be Here Now,” which he wrote at the same intentional community that I stayed at.

I had a lot of fun with this project and wanted to experiment with collage while also keeping in mind Be Here Now’s typography, imagery, and overall message. I looked through various magazines that my friends and family had on hand (such as National Geographic magazines from Bolivia) and scoured the internet for a font that resembled the book’s font. Take a look at my process and inspiration below!