P_PAL ISSUE 2

2023
Published by Dreamer FTY

24 x 17 cm, 298 pages, color, threadsewn glue bound, softcover
Designed by Yang Ji
First edition, limited print run of 600 copies

P_PAL is a magazine founded by abC (art book in China). This somewhat emoticon-like code is a blank space left for each reader’s own definition. The use of the letter “P” in the title is related to books, paper, printing, and publishing, while “PAL” represents the aspiration to become friends and partners with all those who are involved in book-making and love books. Through this magazine, we aim to engage in in-depth conversations with outstanding professionals from around the world, interpreting their creative methods and conceptual thoughts. This bilingual magazine focuses on art books and book creators, with a special emphasis on the self-publishing scene in Greater China.

In this issue of P_PAL, the focus shifts towards a broader community, actively imagining a sense of “collective work and life.” Passing on a glass named “Action” from the hands of “Big Idiot” Matsumoto Hajime, a group of artists, curators, and activists gather in the living room of Xiao Zhou Village in Guangzhou, toasting to the completion of a new space, naturally maintaining a loose yet close collaboration, akin to breathing. Inheriting the community radios of Pirate Radio, they use music as a lifeboat, participating in day-to-day acts of resistance alongside their listeners. 706 Youth Space, built upon the concept of “shared living”, has established a democratic experiment to redefine the boundaries between private and public.