Paper trail

We’ve had some interesting publications in the post bag over the last few days here at Design Week, so we thought we’d share with you some of our favourites.

First up is London-based publisher Nobrow’s latest publication Graphic Cosmogony. Here 24 artists have been tasked with telling the story of creation in just seven pages. Illustrators, including Andrew Rae, Jack Teagle, Daniel Locke, Rob Hunter and Luke Best, have each envisioned the beginning of everything, whether that’s God-like figures with impeccable beards, deity secondary school or fish emerging from the sea.

Graffiti artist Kid Acne’s latest ‘zine When The Smoke Clears features similarly surreal scenes of séances, sex toys and sinister identical twins that look like human sunflowers. The zine has been printed on a bright fuchsia paper, with a hand-pulled cover, and has been produced in a limited-edition run of 150. As ever, there’s an array of sinister and humorous characters in the ‘zine, which demands you to use your imagination if you desire to construct a narrative.

The third publication is Portfolio Berlin 01, a book to accompany the exhibition at Berlin’s Kunsthalle Rostock of contemporary art from the city, such as the work of Norbert Bisky, Thomas Scheibitz, and Katharine Grosse. The most interesting thing about the book is the use of different page sizes to suit each image which gives the impression of a collection of found works that have been stitched together. It’s a really interesting way to catalogue an exhibition, which is often done in a pristine and ordered manner. The choice to use a different paper stock and colour for the accompanying notes, also makes this an interesting object worth holding on to.