Seleena Laverne Daye is one of our all time favourite zinesters, which is why we’re getting her to do a reading at the Salford Zine Library Sounds From the Other City stage that we’re curating. She does loads of great zines with her pals like Sugar Paper and Poor Lass and does them on her own as well (Brown Girl, Has Anyone Seen Tino? and probably many more).
When she’s not making zines, Seleena’s also a “kick ass artist” (quote from Ingrid there). In fact she’s got an exhibition coming up at Z-arts next month that you should all definitely go to. I thought now would be a good time to send over some rubbish questions and talk to Seleena about her “artistic practice”, her exhibition and the zines that she makes and likes reading. Here you go:
Me: Tell us about your exhibition – is it gonna be all new work? Or a kind of retrospective? Is there a theme?
Seleena: The exhibition is called What, Is She Black Now? and centres mostly about being mixed race, with pieces about popular culture, literature, how people perceive you and of course hair. It’s all new work except one piece (where the title comes from) which I made a few years ago but has never be exhibited anywhere, so kinda all new!
Me: You do stuff with Yiiikes! as a collective as well as your solo work – do you find it easier to work on your own or do you prefer to collaborate?
Seleena: I always say I’m not very good at collaboration as I am a bit of a control freak, but it works so well with Yiiikes! We’re all really close friends and work in different mediums which helps and we come from a similar place in regards to our interests and what we want to achieve. It’s also really good to see something on a bigger scale and something I could never create solo (like knitted and painted work) emerge.
Me: Have you got any new zines in the pipeline?
Seleena: Currently working on issue 17 (I think!) of Sugar Paper, the craft zine I make with my friend Kandy and also finishing up a zine about TV series My Mad Fat Diary, with my friend Holly, it’s our first joint zine since 2001!!! Once my exhibition is done I am going to start work on my infamous crisp zine, a zine all about crisps.
Me: Have you read any particularly good zines recently?
Seleena: I’ve been reading a few perzines recently (all by my mates) which is nice because it’s like a little check in with their lives. But my all time favourite zine just brought out its 7th issue. Colouring Outside The Lines is a zine edited by Melanie Maddison, where she interviews female artists and it’s always so insightful and I discover new artists with each issue. I happen to be featured in this issue so super excited by it.
