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P_PAL is ……
A Chinese Romance between Artists’ book and Independent Publishing

Before deciding to make such a magazine about Chinese art publishing, we spent time looking back at the history of self-publishing and artists’ books that happened and are happening in China. This phase of history can be long, can be short, or hasn’t even really started yet. Following the memory of our growth, we tried to salvage the early Chinese art publications from the ocean of the Internet, revealing the history of freedom and romance, and dive into China’s most vibrant independent music scene.

In the first issue of P_PAL, the professional role and publishing process involved in art publishing serves as the clue of the magazine, and a book is technically disassembled. The cover story of the inaugural issue was filmed in the childhood home of the artist Wen Ling. It talks about the changes in his creation and life and the myths that have influenced the millennium to this day. The cover conception of the designer Ji Yang is also extracted from Wen Ling’s exploration of machine vision in his recent “Camouflage” series. We hope that, like the artist, we can forget our personal experience to observe the world objectively. In this magazine, you can read the art book news on the map of Hong Kong; Guides on the production, distribution, and printing of books, especially Risograph, screen printing, and other art printing methods; An chronological research report on Chinese art publishing, etc.

From the first-person experience sharing to the discussion of “real stuff” technology, to the yellow pages of the latest global art bookstore, and documentary industry observations, these topics may make this magazine look like a scientific publication. But before starting the journey with our book-lover friends, let us enjoy the required courses on art publishing.

● Better than Nothing Limited-edition Cassette Tape

The design of Better Than Nothing follows the practice of Chinese independent music magazines in the 1990s that included music compilations inside. The album contains unpublished works from six bands —— yourboyfriendsucks!, Nein or Gas Mus, Kimberley Road, CottonRange, Backspace, RUNRUNRUN. 300 copies attach to the magazine.

The cover designer S.M.B used a tricycle he photographed in a Beijing Hutong. The humorous deliveryman painted the famous brand logo on the car body and the contact information of the self-organized Tricycle Union. The tape’s cover design imitated the practice of the deliveryman and once again painted this little yellow tricycle. More surprises are waiting for you to discover. Just like the slogan of “Better than Nothing”, after all, the most indispensable spirit of self-publishing is “Seek joy in hardship”!

● An Apple A Day Supplement

On February 3, 2020, as we didn’t know how long we would be stuck at home, abC launched a one-month online creative relay under the name #An Apple a Day# to mobilize friends to record this special period. In the end, we received a total of 84 “apples” including readers’ contributions, and 32 of them were selected as a supplement in the first issue.

Pages：64p
Dimensions：124x240mm
Binding：Spiral Bound
Technique：Cover – Spot-Color Printing
Paper：Cover – Cai Ning Paper；Inside Page – Brisk Pure White Paper