“Silence is argument carried out by other means.” - Terre Thaemlitz, Naisho Wave Manifesto. 🔐 〰
Well, it’s been a minute since I’ve offered any new public insight into this project, for which I’ve been slowly architecting a roll-out over the last couple of months. I originally envisioned naisho editions as a platform for offline distribution of zines and artists’ books—experimental and ekphrastic writing in a number of forms, all printed in hard copy, hand-bound, and issued in person between friends and colleagues. Operating in the spirit of Terre Thaemlitz’s Naisho Wave Manifesto, I hoped to challenge the predominant paradigm of online excess and over-circulation, carving out a small but meaningful channel for thoughtful exchange anchored to meticulous, tactile craft.
This vision has hit a road block in the past few weeks: the COVID-19 pandemic has whisked me back to my hometown unexpectedly, diminishing my access to the spaces and materials on which I was relying for the creation of physical media. As a deliberately small-scale operation, naisho relied on an eclectic network of library and office printers, excess paper nicked from school recycling bins, and a sewing kit that is now sequestered in an apartment i have since been forced to abandon. These rapid and unforeseen changes have put my vision on hold—but I’m shifting and adjusting to the exigencies of the current situation, re-drawing the intentions of this project to suit the tools I now have available.
I’m doing the opposite of what I had initially promised: creating a space for naisho editions online! I propose naisho 2.0 as an experiment in carving out a niche within the Wild West of digital distribution, all still in the spirit of the Naisho Wave. The same fundamental values—opposition to the algorithmically-driven net-culture machine; alternatives to neoliberal hyper-visibility, resisting broad and indiscriminate distribution in favor of minor, precise, and peer-to-peer sharing practices—will continue to animate this project, even as the delivery medium shifts to accommodate the necessities of this unprecedented moment.
Subscribe now to witness the inauguration of naisho 2.0, a newly-online experiment in small press suited for contagious times.
Keep it small, keep it sweet, but keep sharing: whisper about us to a friend.