The Zine is Here to Stay
0h10m1ke x bSceneZine at Hekate Cafe & Elixir Lounge
It’s a cold Thursday night as I head out to Hekate Café & Elixir Lounge for the opening night of artist/curator 0h10m1ke’s x bSceneZine sticker and zine show in the East Village. It’s the kind of place that makes the village unique. It’s part coffee shop, serving up cappuccinos and part metaphysical supplier with tinctures alongside tarot card readings, sigil design workshops, and something called a “dark moon ritual”. As I arrived I spotted 0h10m1ke standing out front in his signature hoodie and greeting people. The coffee house is completely packed and the only place on the street with a crowd outside.
0h10m1ke poses with his Zine
Inside, patrons are shuffling about, sipping on the non-alcoholic offerings and searching through a rack of free stickers and magazines, it’s stocked with self-published Zines from local artists. Before the proliferation of social media, if you wanted to express an opinion or share your artwork the fastest and cheapest way to do it was to create a Zine, shorthand for magazine. They were mostly printed on xerox machines and hand-stapled by the artists or writers themselves in small batches. This meant they were free from normal censorship and subsequently gained a reputation as the medium of choice for the fringe.
Inside Hekate Cafe at the opening of 0h10m1k3 x bSceneZine
Zines can trace part of their history back to the 1930’s and the “Science Correspondents Club” in Chicago (check out this great article on MentalFloss), yet here I am in 2022, at a witchy elixir bar, perusing offerings from the NYC street art underground. There is art on the walls but the crowd is too dense for me to make it to where most of the works are hung. I enjoyed reconnecting with some artists who I haven’t seen in a while and ultimately decided to grab a copy of Jon Mann’s Which one is it?, before slipping out to my nearby apartment.
Hekate Café & Elixir Lounge employees tend to drinks while patrons exchange street art stickers.
I decide to return later in the week when the place is less crowded and can have time to fully explore what 0h10m1ke has put together.. and you should too! The show will be up for several weeks, but if you want to meet the crew get over to Hekate tomorrow, Saturday the 26 (02/22) from 12pm-10pm.