Isabel Curdes‘ Dreamwalking – the Forest is the finest, most precious zine I’ve seen. In fact, it’s really probably a travesty to call this thing a zine: completely handmade, stab-bound, and printed on fine Kozo paper, it oozes quality and attention to detail, and is a far cry from xeroxes at Kinkos.
https://youtu.be/uMUNtM_HLE0
In Dreamwalking, Isabel takes us on a walk through the forest. The photographs are monochrome, tilt-shifted and carefully focused to present a moody, dreamlike space. Interspersed through, a narrator tells us about an unnamed protagonist and her journey through memory and emotion, to healing and recovery.
The photography is beautiful, and beautifully printed. I keep reaching for it to flip through and examine the images, and I really need to find a archival sleeve to carefully put Dreamwalking in: it’s too nice to get my greasy fingers all over, but it’s too nice not to handle and enjoy.
| Concept | |
| Content | |
| Design |
The storyline and images work together well, and deliver the story she means to tell. Some of it might be a tad obvious for my taste, but it works. The images themselves are beautiful and evocative, and beautifully printed. And the design, handmade, stab-bound, on fine papers, is amongst the finest I’ve seen.
Overall, I’d give it 4.3 stars.
At time of writing, copies of Dreamwalking – the Forest remain available, and even if you don’t buy one, you should definitely check out Isabel’s website. It’s full of short projects and ongoing series, and prints are available upon request. I feel privileged to have a copy of her book/zine/thing and plan on finding a nice frame to display the print in, and might not have been aware without the excellent photography community on Twitter. You can follow Isabel @IsabelCurdes and me @jam_esc.
