A wide range of literary and artistic influences converge in this stunning selection of zines from Sunmeet Gill. An accessible, community-focused artifact, the zine is not without its own troubled history. Sunmeet explains this history and how it has informed her work:
Zines are miniature self-published work formatted as a magazine or graphic novel. They are popularly photocopied and circulated. I chose zines as my creative medium because I was inspired by the stories of condemned prisoners’ which were sold as pamphlets on the day of their executions. The execution pamphlets were discussed during the Restoration period in relation to novels such as Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders, a criminal narrative that acts as a cautionary tale.
The line work in the zines is influenced by Aubrey Beardsley, “The Cave of Spleen” (1896) discussed during the Renaissance portion of the course. I’ve tried my best to translate Beardsley’s elegant linear style into my own black ink drawings. While Beardsley was inspired by Japanese woodcut, I was inspired by Japanese manga.
Aubrey Beardsley, “The Cave of Spleen” (c) Royal Academy of ArtsSelection of zines by Sunmeet.
We hope you will enjoy Sunmeet’s artistic skill and creative energy as much as we did! (One zine even features Luna, the beloved house rabbit who has regularly made guest appearances in Prof. Winstead’s lecture videos!) We are pleased to included her commentary on these beautiful pieces as you browse these fascinating re-imaginations of premodern text.
To illustrate the [pre-Conquest] epic poem I created a tunnel book. Out of all the works in the Pre-Conquest period I chose Beowulf because it only survives in one manuscript.
The scene I illustrated is of Beowulf going on the search for Grendel’s mother ( “Grendles modor/ides, aglæcwif”), who descended on Heorot in a frenzy of grief and rage after her son was killed.
Though there are many copies of [Beowulf] now, there is only one damaged original. The tunnel book with its montage of graphic images is a piece I hope will carry the legacy of Beowulf if miraculously by some chance the internet crashes and all copies get burned down.
The first zine I created is inspired by the conflicting ideals of Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich. They both had differing ideas on what makes a faithful woman. Julian of Norwich was an anchoress isolated behind four walls, Margery Kempe on the other hand was not beholden to any walls social or otherwise.
The cover of the zine is inspired by the single window that an Anchoress is permitted while the back is inspired by the wagon I imagine Margery used for pilgrimages. Within the zine I show the different life styles of both women.
For Julian, I illustrated the interior of her anchor-hold with a cat as the sole room-mate. The room is sparsely furnished like I believe Julian would’ve preferred to not distract her mind from God with the desk being her favorite space where she writes.
For Margery, I illustrated her flamboyant wardrobe and her preference for dagged sleeves. The dresses I drew have hanging sleeves with decorative edges such as scallops or leaves.
Luna’s World is a parody of Cavendish’s Blazing World. In my zine, instead of having a young lady kidnapped by a foreign merchant and taken to sea I have a cute rabbit based on Professor Winstead’s pet rabbit Luna.
She is kidnapped and taken on a journey where everyone she meets from merchants and bear men to emperors are enamored by her cuteness. The emperor gives up his own crown to Luna who like the empress issues a universal decree when she begins ruling.
However, instead of imposing her religion on the people of the Blazing world she imposes her diet of carrot cake onto the people (I wouldn’t mind).
The Clutch of Covid is inspired by recitation work done for Alexander Pope’s Rape of the Lock where we were asked to create a 21st Century Cave Of Spleen.
I chose to make my zine into a purse because the compactness and portability of it reminded me of a clutch (type of purse and we are also stuck in the clutches of Covid).
A purse also seems much more modern than a cave and something we heavily rely on to carry the assortment of things we require because of Covid.
Sunmeet Gill is a third-year English major with a concentration in Literature, Film and Popular Culture. Her future aspirations change day by day, today she wants to write her own fantasy series, tomorrow she’ll probably want to open up her own book cafe in Europe. She has found fulfillment in creating ever since she was five and drawing on paper bags at her parents’ gas station.
