neocha.com | blow up 5 ::
Monday, March 2nd, 2009:: Neocha.com recently released the fifth edition of its webzine 放大 (or Blow Up).
Blow Up 5 is available as a free download from the Blow Up homepage or, if you prefer, here are direct PC and Mac download links.
For those unfamiliar with Blow Up, it is Neocha’s flash webzine dedicated to independent youth culture in China. It’s released every few months (or so) and has only one (strict!) rule: all of its content (pictures, music, text, animation, etc.) are 100% original creative works put together specifically for Blow Up. This is not zhuanzai’d content. Previous issues of Blow Up can be downloaded here. For an English summary of the last edition, see Adam’s previous post here. (Just click, the downloads will start automatically.)
The main theme for Blow Up 5 is “十宅记” or “10 Homes.” We visited the homes of 10 young creative people in Shanghai from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. In doing so, we asked each of them to choose 10 objects in their homes and tell us why they are important to them. We documented the visits with pictures and interviews, and even got everyone to draw a map of their home. Good fun.
Below is an brief overview of Blow Up 5 in English, but I highly recommend downloading a copy to get the full experience with music, full-text, animation, interactive flash, and all the great photographs.
Blow Up 5 cover ::
table of content (this is fully interactive in the webzine format, please download to experience) ::
video of Neocha’s two year anniversary party ::
陈洁微 is the founder of a company that places part-time workers (a temp agency of sorts). She used to run a creative shop in Beijing ::
丁冬 is from Guangxi and runs an independent photography studio in Shanghai. He took all the pictures for this issue, he’s an incredible photographer ::
天天 is originally from Sichuan and now lives in Shanghai as a fashion designer ::
郑一 is the founder and lead designer of The Thing, a graphic design company specializing in streetwear clothing and products ::
糖果猫猫 (Popil) is a Shanghai-based “creative extraordinaire” originally from Guangdong. While Popil’s best know for her illustrations and drawings, her photography, graffiti, and music are all impressive. Check out a slideshow of her work here ::
童云 aka 大海盗 (Big Pirate), is a designer who runs the “TYAKASHA Earth Store” creative goods stores in Taikang Lu’s 田子坊 (Tianzifang) area ::
阿郜 is a poet and theatre director. She is the founder of the 测不准 (Uncertainty) independent theatre troupe ::
小季 is one half of the photography duo 鸟头 (Birdhead), which has become well recognized in the Chinese modern art world. Check out their profile on ShanghART Gallery here ::
李悠 is from Ningxia and is now a promoter for musicians in China ::
廖传扬: Sean Leow (that’s me in my apartment!) ::
credits page ::
a (subtle) call for advertisements in the next issue – hey, we gotta keep the lights on :-) ::
Again, Blow Up 5 is available as a free download from the Blow Up homepage or, if you prefer, here are direct PC and Mac download links.
Special thanks to 丁冬 for his superb photography work, Jamhippy for the cover art, and 诺琪 (Noki) for soundtrack through this edition of Blow Up. // SL
[full disclosure: Sean Leow is the CEO of Neocha.com]
