Live Art Bookshop x Queer and Feminist Zine Spirits Across Borders

Join us for a performance by Burong Zeng and Lanyun Huang (Finch) followed by a screening of Unbound Zine: Xiaomei Going Overseas, a 30-minute surreal drag performance mixed with field trip recordings of East and Southeast Asian queer self-publishing heroes. The screening will be followed by an online Q&A with the director, Oyester.

In Asia, queer and women's zines exist like nowhere else, their formats dancing between extremes: tiny pocket booklets whispering secrets, oversized sheets demanding attention, bindings improvised with thread and hope. Inheriting the lineage of woodblock prints and folk art, they transform traditional craft into radical, at times ephemeral, publishing. A deliberate act of resistance that operates beyond digital surveillance and algorithmic control.

Follow Xiaomei (‘little beauty’ in Chinese) navigating the world of ‘unbound zines’ – small, fragile, fleeting publications without ISBNs that escape the systems caging stories. These publications mix surreal visuals with lip-sync style interviews based on recordings with underground publishers and zine researchers. 

This event is presented in collaboration with Queer and Feminist Zine Spirits Across Borders, a new series of public events exploring self-publishing and ‘unbound’ as a radical strategy in East and Southeast Asian queer culture, designed and produced by Burong Zeng.

Come browse Live Art Bookshop and a pop-up stall of zines and printed matter from Sino-diasporic publishing platforms, including OUTLAND and Pubis Project. Celebrate the launch of artist books by oo, Finch, SickGirl, and Funa Ye, commissioned by Queer and Feminist Zine Spirits Across Borders.

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Bios:
Queer and Feminist Zine Spirits Across Borders
Queer and Feminist Zine Spirits Across Borders is a new series of public events exploring self-publishing and ‘unbound’ as a radical strategy in East and Southeast Asian queer culture, designed and produced by Burong Zeng. The events include public screenings of a 30-minute film directed by Oyester, a live performance, and zine-making workshops, paired with ESEA zine fairs.
Oyester (Funa Ye)
Born in Kunming, Yunnan, Oyester (she/her) is an artist and researcher who lives and works in London and Beijing. Her practice critically engages with the realities of daily life and the perceived nexus between authority and various societal domains, such as differing power structures and marginalised groups. Her politically charged art uses pastiche to critique and satirise cultural uniformity.

Burong Zeng
Burong Zeng (she/xe) is a creative producer and live artist based in London and Beijing, working at the intersection of critical disability studies, queer cultures and transnational collaboration. With a PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Sussex, Zeng maintains a distinctive practice that bridges artistic creation, academic rigour and independent producing.

Access Information

Event information

This is a seated event. Various seating options will be available including fold out chairs, office chairs, a sofa and a bench. There will be stalls of printed matter to browse and buy from. All are welcome to join in a relaxed space and are free to come and go as they please. The lighting will be fixed with no sudden changes and microphone amplification will be used. There are disposable masks and hand sanitiser available.

LADA space

The building is wheelchair accessible by lift and provides a wheelchair accessible ground-floor bathroom. All bathrooms are gender inclusive. There is no isolated quiet space inside, but there is a small quiet outdoor area. Some of the art on display in the space includes naked bodies. You can find more information and see photos of the space here. Should you have any particular access requirements, please email [email protected] and we will be happy to offer further support.

Content notes:

Please email [email protected] if you would like more information on what to expect.

Unbound Zine. Image credit Yushan

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Host or Publisher Live Art Development Agency (LADA)