Listen up everyone, we’ve got important safety messages to share by way of LIMBO magazine’s PSA’s: intermittent visual interruptions by some of the world’s best image makers in this critically-acclaimed lockdown magazine. Placed sporadically through the magazines’ pages, these are CTA’s and messages to readers which reflect the bizarre new lifestyle rules we face in 2020. Here, the magazine’s maker Nick Chapin tells us why these galvanizing messages and friendly reminders have a place inside LIMBO magazine.
“We knew early in the process of developing LIMBO that we wanted to play with the conventions and cliches of printed magazines. There was something transgressive about creating a traditional print magazine during a moment of restriction and digital dominance, and we wanted to have fun with that. So as a prompt we invited artists to reimagine classic magazine formats: horoscopes, the classified section, comics, even a gardening column.
One traditional element we knew we wouldn’t have an overabundance of was advertisements. Most magazine layouts use ads to create a sense of pace and texture. And while we planned to sell a few, we knew there wouldn’t likely be enough in the book to do that job for us. So we decided to invite graphic artists and independent design shops we love to fill those spaces. Because there was so much slightly dystopian government messaging going around, I thought it would be fun to play with the idea of the classic Public Service Announcement.
So we gave each artist a blank page and told them the message and the design was entirely up to them. The series was also a way of extending the LIMBO family. Working with independent design brands like Brain Dead and Total Luxury Spa, who are using graphic design to drive community activism during this moment of turmoil felt important and inspiring. There are so many ways that the creative community has come together and used art to take action this year. For us that’s at the heart of what LIMBO is trying to achieve.”
This is the second of three pieces re-published from LIMBO: a printed arts publication created to support out-of-work artists and creatives following the coronavirus crisis.
LIMBO Magazine is a printed publication created to support out-of-work artists and creatives. Edited by Nick Chapin, it features art, humor, curious stories and imaginative editorial pieces from almost 100 artists, writers and thinkers, all created and collected in lockdown. All profits from the magazine will go directly to the creatives involved who’ve lost jobs because of COVID-19. Miranda July and many other leading artists have waived their own fees so that funds raised can go to those in need. We're proud to be LIMBO magazine’s official publishing partner, and to celebrate it we will be publishing a selection of features from the title on WePresent.