Originally compiled and curated by The Forgotten ZIne archive is complied of over 2,000 zines opened its doors to the public in 2004 in the Warehouse Space in North Strand, Dublin. Since then, it has gone through many incarnations but, both in storage and in exhibition spaces. It even has been part of the 2005 Venice Biennale, as part of artist Sarah Pierce's Monk's Garden project.
Thanks to the curation of Tom Maher, librarian and member of A4 Sounds, the Forgotten Zine Archive has now found a home at A4 Sounds, off Dame Street. Unlike what most believe, the word zine is not a diminutive of magazine, but fanzine, a word coined in the 1960s Sci Fi fandom scene, and made possible as a form of mass production with the invention of the Xerox machine. Since then, it has been appropriated by many different groups that were attracted it’s homemade practicality and ease of production, not least the punk and music scene.
We, the students of the DIT photography programme, wished to view the collection through our on scope, that of photography, and wished to examine the ZIne’s relationship with the photographic image, both as an end in itself, and as part of larger narrative. It has been a rewarding experience, and we hope you enjoy some of our fins as much as we did.