Zine Review: As Above, So Below

As Above, So Below
iestyn
https://www.instagram.com/iesorno/
https://zinelove.wordpress.com/
https://ko-fi.com/W7W2V5BK

As Above, So Below is a horizontal A6 full-colour zine about walking, identity, and mental health combined with the 39 Steps Project.

I think it’s easy to forget sometimes the depths that other people have. We take them at face value, for granted, because it’s easier than constantly reminding ourselves that everyone has a deep and complex past. Perhaps that’s why I love perzines so much. I can find something in common with a complete stranger or learn something new about a friend – even when it breaks my hear to do so.

The 39 Steps Project is a photo challenge in which you capture an image for every step you take for 39 steps. In As Above, So Below, iestyn takes the project a bit further with taking one photo above them and one at his feet for each step. iestyn takes us on a walk while contemplating the act of walking itself. While doing so, he also explores his past, his feelings in relation to other people, and his sense of identity.

“I am a person… who’s so threatened by his own sense of being a fraud.”

iestyn’s words hit my heart directly as many of my own thoughts and feelings travel in the same direction. I’m not someone who particularly likes walking, but that doesn’t by any means take away the visual metaphor of taking the reader with him in his vulnerable contemplations. This is one of those zines where I found myself wishing I could give the zinemaker a hug.

I love the idea of the 39 Steps Project and how iestyn has used it in this perzine, giving a visual look at the world through his eyes and giving a written one at the same time.

As Above, So Below is a great, heart-squeezing zine with a lot of elements woven together wonderfully. Definitely one to check out.

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