Culture

Author: Kerry Ann Lee. Self Published (4/5)

Kerry Ann Lee knows her stuff. She’s been producing zines for at least a decade, with the result that her latest appears effortless and polished. Permanent Vacation is essentially a collection of musings on travel; what it’s like to be an outsider in a foreign land, and what it’s like to be an insider somewhere that others have only dreamt about. Everybody has different experiences with life and travel so it is fitting that the publication features writers not just from Dunedin but as widespread as London, Taiwan and Los Angeles. The wide range of contributors and varied styles give the feeling of a collective scrapbook that Kerry has put together from a combination of correspondence and personal experience.
 
The result is something different on every page – a different writer, a different topic, and a different visual experience. This also means that you might prefer to flick through and read what takes your interest rather than attempt to read cover to cover. There is plenty of material to keep you entertained though; subjects vary from voodoo readings to vernacular architecture, and the visual material is just as varied. The witty, slightly satirical ‘anti-travel’ ads were probably my favourite part, while I felt that some of the comics suffered from lack of context. Some parts look well considered and painstakingly laid out while others look like they were slapped together to fill up space – kind of how a scrapbook should look, I guess. The occasional page isn’t that pretty but overall it is a reasonably cohesive piece of work. While there is nothing particularly deep and meaningful within the 70+ pages that make up Permanent Vacation, there is plenty of interesting and entertaining substance for you to take a temporary vacation in your living room. Definitely worth having a look at – and you get a bonus kitschy magic eyeball charm to “keep the good mojo in and the bad mojo out”
 
If you would like to get hold of a copy, pop into Dunedin Public Art Gallery or University Bookshop, or email Kerry Ann: kerryannlee@gmail.com