é-zine // affinity // editorial

 

I never would have thought that we would be living through the events that we are currently witnessing, and that how now, more than ever, we need a sense of affinity. In light of the global crisis that we are experiencing there is a real sense that we need to come together, work together and help each other out. When we originally opened up for submissions for the ‘Affinity’ themed ezine we never realised that what we would receive would be so pertinent to our current epoch.

 

In this, our seventh edition of our ezine, we have a great selection of features to share with you, and hopefully this edition, and our past ezines, will provide a window of creativity for all those who are currently on lockdown, self-isolating or cocooning around the world.

 

We are honoured to be able to feature images of the paintings, prints and linocuts of Gail Brodholt, an artist who has recently won a prestigious commission to produce two posters for London Transport. There is a certain poignancy to the images we have featured here. Gail’s work is inspired by her travels around London and seeing her images of the normalcy of daily life around London heightens our awareness of what is currently out of our grasp. In particular, the linocut image used on her tile, Tickets Please, calls to mind people catching the last train home before a period of lock down.

 

The amazing photography by Justin Hopes, titled A World Within My World, uses camera obscura techniques to project the outside world into home environments, showing the close affinity between the exterior world and people’s daily lives. Received prior to our current situation unfolding, we can’t help but feel these remarkable images now have an even greater impact and relevance. Now that many people find themselves confined to their houses and rooms the images have an unsettling quality highlighting the new reality many are confronted with: separation from that which is outside their front door.

 

We also feature the photography, along with some accompanying reflective text, of Wasim Shafi; images and words which capture the essence of Pakistan, images suffused with a sense of universal humanity. They are from a collection of his work titled, Pakistan: Landscapes of the Mind.

 

We are also delighted to be able to feature a short film titled, Playing Dead, by the talented director and producer, David Hunt. The atmospheric film is reminder of the freedom, and boredom, of being a child; wandering the woods and seeking out an affinity for something. A dark encounter at the end of the film provides a tender moment of affinity.

 

In this edition we are also featuring two collaborations between artists working in the written and visual medium. We have an extract from an ongoing graphic novel project titled, Stories of a Few Outsiders, by Emre Altındağ, with accompanying text by Deniz Karakuş. The images and words combine together here to produce a form of visual poetry, with Emre currently exploring the concept of a ‘silent’ novel. We are also delighted to welcome back the collaboration between Alan McCormick and Jonny Voss for the combined feature of art work and writing titled, The Optimist Recyclist.

 

The short stories we feature in this edition include, The Truth about Snow, by Dan Cardoza, is a reflection on the affinity between family members and how over time feelings can change and traits can be passed on. Swings, by Liz MacBride, explores feeling an affinity with the world around you, living for the now, holding on to a hand and just swinging along with the moment. Lee Wright’s story, Breakdown, is a surreal and comedic take on a man and woman’s affinity for each other, whilst Man in the Doorway, by Mike Harmer, looks at mans affinity for the outsider. Paddy Doherty writes of a girl with an affinity for nothing in the short story Cast of Friends and we are shown one person’s affinity for questioning and examining social and societal norms in Radical Hope by Yash Seyedbagheri.

 

In terms of poetry we have a Hephaesta by Sue Wells, written in homage to a severely handicapped woman born with severe cerebral palsy, who Sue who was privileged enough to work for many years ago, shines a light on the life affirming affinity and bond that develops between two people. Bees, a poem by Emma Sims, looks at how our affinity for social media creates a hive mind mentality, whilst Kevin Smicle captures the fleeting affinity between strangers and the power of an observed moment in his poems Amicabilis Concordia and Admonishment. We also have the autobiographical prose poetry, Mugs and Comprehension by Ian C Smith.

 

We hope you enjoy all of the pieces we have selected for you. Please do share our ezine with your friends and contacts to help promote the excellent work of our contributors. Thank you for reading.

 

Sean Campbell