The premise behind Living Room #1 is simple: we are standing in the middle of a room, and with each page we learn more about it. By describing the things in the room, the author builds a picture not only of the place, but of the people who inhabit it:
There is a sewing machine in the middle of the room. It is a "Bernina Record". It stands on a wooden table with red legs and a nice varnished top. Also on the table is a big Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar and piles of paper.
Each page describes a different part of the room, moving around it until we reach the door.
It is a brief zine, so there is not much more I can say without spoiling it. It is very matter-of-fact, at times just a list of objects: "Fridge. Chopping board. Grater." This contrasts with other passages that convey the author's judgment about the room's contents: "The pencils seem very important." In some ways this creates a peculiar unevenness, but it also creates in the reader the sensation of standing in the room and looking around, skimming quickly over some things and stopping to contemplate others.
I would very much like to read about other living rooms.
tracing_contact, Living Room #1, 1/4 size, 24 pages.
Available from Sticky.
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