ARTISTIC expressions come in different mediums. From digital art, pop and street, there is no doubt that the freedom in art has no limit. With the advances in media and art combined, local artists now have a wider space and avenue to showcase their creativity.
In Cebu, artists thrive in a community that is rapidly growing and widely accepting. Through events, they find a venue for artistic expressions where their works can be appreciated, such as the Cebu Zine Fest. Every year, the event excites the artists’ community. The local artists’ magazines (or zines) show their perception and interpretation of art, and through these little pages, we can tell that Cebu will never run out of great talents.
Here are some entries to the festival held last July 14. Surely, you will find yourself either crafting one or supporting the local art scene.
CHEESECRUMBS
Created with characters inspired by comics, Siamese Rat’s second issue of the series does not disappoint.
Siamese Rat is a Cebu based artist, illustrator and toy maker. Inspired by the 1980s and the 1990s cartoons, his style and identity slowly developed. Some of these cartoons are Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, TMNT, Ren and Stimpy.
Cheesecrumbs’s second issue is Siamese’s entry in this year’s festival. “It is a comic that I created with all the characters I could think of dumped in one universe,” he shares.
The zine is about a slimy fungus named Diego Dugta and a rabid dog named Lito Rabid. Both are excited to embark on an alcoholic adventure. They had a companion; a homeless wizard who mixes radical concoction.
“Cheesecrumbs series is inspired by vintage TMNT comics, action figures and cartoons,” Siamese shares.
This exciting story from the little pages by Siamese Rat is surely the one you should grab now.
ROBOTS VS. MONSTERS
This collaborative project is as humble as its purpose. A project crafted by seven of Cebu’s best local artists, this zine hopes to be minimal.
Robots versus Monsters was conceptualized by artist friends Alcy Salazar, Remenes, Kano, Hex, Leo, Bradley and JP.
“We started out as classmates back in college and during our free time, we also do this thing we call art jam where we would think about a concept and draw our own version of it,” Alcy shares.
“Our theme for this year’s Zine Fest is about robots and aliens because who doesn’t want to see those two duke it out? It’s cool,” Bradley excitedly shares.
BOTTLED FEELINGS
From fungus and aliens, another zine definitely relates to our deepest emotions. A collaboration of a poet and an artist, Karya and Astraberry, they related three feelings we usually hide or deny.
Infatuation. Karya explains: “It’s a feeling that we take for granted but usually triggers the creepy things we do like stalking the person on social media and thinking about getting married and having three kids with that particular person. We think infatuation is just a minor thing but it also creates bridges to relationships.”
Envy. Human as we are, we all experienced being jealous. “We have the feeling of bitter envy that we usually deny, the big self-loathe bottled up inside eating our egos,” she adds.
Bliss. Karya shares that we’ve all had the feeling of happiness and lightness whenever we experience something that reminds us of a beautiful memory, “It can be hearing an old song, the smell of books, Sunday mornings, or rainy days. It takes you down memory lane; sometimes you can’t hold back a smile or tears of joy,” she says.
This collaboration started when Astraberry invited Karya to write for her artworks. “She just let me pour my heart and guts out into this zine and I relate my feelings and thoughts to her artworks. We never even got to talk about it face-to-face but just by looking at her artworks, I already know how she feels and think about it. After every write-up, I would send it to her and she’d say I did justice to her artwork,” Karya shares.
Different stories taken from the eyes of another create another story for us to relate to.
It is only right to support our local artists to create a wider and accommodating atmosphere for all. By supporting the local artists, these zines and a lot more will come, as well as stories we could read and relate to.
And just like every story, all these zines were created with love and inspiration. The local art scene, as a home to a wide variety of artists’ works, will always aspire to inspire.