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A collection of books and magazines are scattered across a surface. One green cover features a blue sky with clouds and the text “I LOVE YOU” and “CHRISSIE ABBOTT”.

Find sustainable printing, electronic stamp albums and existentialist Japanese comics in December's Things!

Thanks to the ever-generous members of the creative community who sent their things to us in the post over the last month. This month's Things features some darker topics, from the climate crises to a comic about a man without talent.

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Date
5 December 2019

For the last edition of Things in 2019, we bring you a selection of goodies that came into our studio this month. Much like the English weather, we end with a slightly sombre note. This month's selection takes us through the history of electronic music through a stamp-styled poster, an unending declaration of love dedicated to those who have suffered through cancer, the first full-length English translation of Yoshiharu Tsuge's work and a large photo book depicting New Delhi's hijras. Here is December's Things to close out the year!

GalleryWhere the Leaves Fall: issue one

A magazine cover features a person in profile wearing a white vest and a traditional feathered headdress. They stand against a backdrop of dense green foliage. White text across the cover reads “WHERE THE LEAVES FALL”.
An open book displays a photograph of a cleared patch of land within a dense, green rainforest. The burnt, blackened earth is strewn with fallen branches and debris.
An open book shows a spread with a portrait and text. The left page reads “CROSSING BORDERS” and “from London to Gotland”, with credits for Paul Wu and Jessica Lindgren. The right page features a person in an orange fleece and blue cap, smiling while holding a pitchfork.

Where the Leaves Fall: issue one

The publication, which explores our relationship with nature, editors Luciane Pisani and David Reeve have compiled together a series of articles and photography works that takes on the topic of food, immigration and art. The magazine's matte feel and lush photography is soothing for both eyes and the fingers, something that immediately grabbed our attention here at It's Nice That. It's also part of the result of the magazine's printing methods which look towards sustainable solutions wherever possible. Seacourt, its UK printer for instance, runs on 100% renewable energy, a wormery munches through the company's food waste and paper waste, and, the print plates are also recycled. Furthermore, the magazine's dimensions were also decided to maximise on the percentage of the paper sheets used during the printing process.

GalleryChrissie Abbott: I Love You

A lime green booklet rests on a silver foil envelope. The cover features a square image of a cloudy sky with the words “I LOVE YOU” and the name “CHRISSIE ABBOTT”.
A grid of 16 identical square prints on a folded sheet of paper. Each print features the words “I LOVE YOU” in distorted, colourful typography over a gradient background.
An open book featuring a surreal illustration across two pages. Two eyes with the earth as pupils shed colourful, iridescent liquid that flows down a dark purple background.

Chrissie Abbott: I Love You

In this zine, whose proceeds go entirely to the Cancer Research Institute, designer Chrissie Abbott takes on several different ways to say the often difficult phrase. "The zine is dedicated to everyone I love who has been through the shit that cancer throws at you," she writes in a small note to the studio. The zine is filled cover to cover with endless gradients, playful graphics and bold colours, with the words "I Love You" being repeated and reiterated over different formats.

GalleryYoshiharu Tsuge: The Man Without Talent

The cover of a book titled “the man without talent” by Yoshiharu Tsuge. Three identical line drawings of a person lying on their side, propping their head up with one hand, are stacked vertically.
An open book shows a chapter heading page. It features a black and white illustration of a decorative rock on a stand, with the text “Selling Stones” and “Chapter 1”.
An open manga book showing a chapter title page and a comic strip. The left page features a figure seen from behind, perched on a stone plinth, with the text “The Bird Master” and “Chapter 3”. The right page contains three panels with characters in conversation and a landscape of buildings and trees.

Yoshiharu Tsuge: The Man Without Talent

Released in 2020, the first full English translation of the cult comic artist's work focuses on a semi-autobiographical story filled with encounters with the outsiders of society. The moustached protagonist, jaunt and looking like he came straight out of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, is a cheapskate and struggling artist who takes on odd jobs as he tries to find success. "Oh your comics are art, someone says. That goes to your head and then no one wants to hire you," the protagonists' wife says bitterly in the comic. Morosely in the distance, the crows overhear and laugh at him and his failure. As you can see, it's a sad tale.

GalleryDominick Sheldon: Journal 3: New Delhi

A black and white photograph of a person wearing a sari and multiple bangles on their wrist. They lean against a textured wall, looking towards the camera with one hand raised to their face.
Two black and white photographs lie side by side. One is a portrait of Frida Kahlo, and the other shows a person reclining on a bed.
An open book shows two black and white portraits of people. On the left, a person wears a patterned sari and looks directly at the camera. On the right, a person rests their chin on their hand, partially obscured by a white page.

Dominick Sheldon: Journal 3: New Delhi

In 36 unbound 11" x 14" monochrome pages, this third journal of Dominick Sheldon's work contains photographs from New Delhi shot earlier this year, including a few that are currently being exhibited at this year's Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. Printed in an edition of 350, this massive publication shows Dominick's images in the full scale that it deserves. The photographs capture some of New Delhi's hijras, a third gender in the Indian subcontinent, shot through a powerful series of portraits.

GalleryDorothy: Stamp Albums: Electronic

A grid of 30 small, square graphic panels on a white sheet of paper. Each panel contains a different abstract geometric composition and a name, such as “Kraftwerk” or “The Prodigy”, paired with a number.
A collection of graphic postage stamps featuring electronic musicians. Each stamp includes a name, such as “Kraftwerk”, “Gary Numan” and “New Order”, alongside a minimalist geometric illustration.
A sheet of postage stamps featuring electronic music artists. Each stamp displays a name, such as “Aphex Twin” or “Daft Punk”, alongside a minimalist geometric graphic.

Dorothy: Stamp Albums: Electronic

Designed as a series of oversized stamps, this poster shows the history of electronic music from the 1968 Silver Apples album to Jamie XX's 2015 In Colour. With shiny silver foil details acting as the perforated holes that divide the stamps, this monochromatic take on the studio's Stamp Album series also features well-placed accents from the six-colour litho printing process. Each stamp, arranged chronologically, shows you the details of each album: a graphic inspired by the album, the names of the artist and album, the release label, the release date and its runtime. The work is also accompanied by a Spotify playlist featuring the albums in the poster.

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About the Author

Alif Ibrahim

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Alif joined It's Nice That as an editorial assistant from September to December 2019 after completing an MA in Digital Media at Goldsmiths, University of London. His writing often looks at the impact of art and technology on society.

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