Modern Solutions - an online zine compilation First edition. Published April 2020. Feel free to email deanzuberiafrica@gmail.com for further inquiries, or contact the artists directly. All works are copyright of their respective creators.
table of contents 4
Foreword by Dean Zuberi Africa
6
A Bizarre Zine by Mikaela Sumang (IG @sock.tm)
14
BORED? Try and make something! by Martha Dabo (IG @henridda_art)
24
Food (drawn by someone who can’t draw food) by Xsandrie Guimba (IG @/xsnad)
33
DEATH B(L)INDED US by Gail Riofrio
42
A new robot’s guide on working at the Protech Observatory Ship by Mikaela de Guzman
54
FRESH! by Raya Emata
64
ALWAYS BE CREATING by Cheska Rufo (IG @cheskarufo)
73
ZINE: A watermelon project by Min Young Kang
81
Somewhere, Elsewhere by Andrea Lagura (IG @adrypaint)
98
Turnabout Reminisce - chapter 1 by Kiana Lim (IG @artsy_kiana)
foreword Modern Solutions is an online zine compilation of various student works from the OBMC Art Pool - a newly founded arts club within an established school in San Juan, Metro Manila. This online zine compilation came about as a response to the Coronavirus pandemic. As many of the club’s activities (and pretty much everything else) were cancelled due to the pandemic, we all felt disheartened ending the school year on a very anti-climactic note. Originally, these zines were to be printed out and sold individually, but as the pandemic took the world by surprise, we (and pretty much everyone else) had to stop and rethink about what we were doing, and what we could do next. As we have seen in the recent weeks, art has played a vital role in how we cope and respond to crises, and it only seemed natural that, as the whole world was changing, we change our approach to our art as well. Zines, when they first started emerging decades ago, were cultural responses to what was happening at the time. Modern Solutions is exactly that – a creative solution in the time of quarantine and social distancing. You now behold in your screens a compilation of selfpublished student works with a variety of topics – from self-help, comics, fan art, fiction and everything in between. What I like most about these zines is that it shows creativity at its finest, when students are allowed to fully express themselves without the restrictions or expectations usually imposed by academic institutions.
This is what I feel that zines are all about: creating your own platform to express yourself. You don’t need to wait on opportunities, you can make them yourself. This seems particularly apt now. It can be tough living through a global crisis. There’s a lot of uncertainty about what happens to us next, and things may never really return to “normal” as we know it. But in spite of all the problems, crises can also bring out the best in us. I’d like to think this zine is evidence of that. What the world needs now is the willingness to change, to communicate, to empathize, and a whole lot of creativity. Dave Chappelle says it best in the famous meme:
D. Africa April 2020 San Juan, Manila
(Note: panels and pages in this portion are read from right to left.)
COMING SOON!
Modern Solutions - an online zine compilation. All works are copyright of their respective authors. Published 2020.