EAVA ZINE #1 | PILGRIMAGES

TITLE - EAVA ZINE #1 - PILGRIMAGES 

DESIGNED & EDITED BY - SOPHIE CURTIS & SIMON NUNN

GENRE - FOLKLORE/HAUNTOLOGY 

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - UNITED KINGDOM 

89 PAGES

PRICE - £9.50 

AVAILABLE NOW FROM - www.eavazine.com

"EAVA ZINE" (East Anglian Visual Art) was created out of the chaos that 2020 wrought on the arts world, yet, reading its pages, one gets a sense of profound calm. 

Feeling, like many people during the lockdowns, a stronger and more defined link to their home, they began exploring the wilds of their native North Norfolk, uncovering ancient ruins and a strong sense of deep time. The zine as a whole evokes the idea of the importance of "place" in our memories and the strong bond we have with the areas we grew up in. There is also the ever-present notion of liminal spaces and "edgelands", which can exude a powerful force of their own. "Eava Zine" is as much a exploration of the area's folklore as it is a tourist brochure. 

A literary showcase for East Anglian talent, issue 1 contains six feature articles. Atmospheric photographs, some clear images of the landscape, others dark, mysterious and deliberately obscure, accompany the words. Editors Sophie & Simon write the lead article, "Wandering on the Periphery", which relates an uncannily vivid experience in Booton cathedral. This is followed by Justin Partyka's piece, "A Pilgrimage Home", in which he shares his experience of feeling "claustrophobic" in the Norfolk wilds, leading him to emigrate to Canada, only to find that Norfolk was already waiting for him there.

B. Booth examines one of East Anglia's most infamous occurrences, the alleged UFO crash in Rendlesham Forest in 1980. The mysterious "B" discovers that the strange symbols found on the Rendlesham "wreckage" have similarities with another UFO sighting in Japan in 1803. The article is accompanied by very dreamy and evocative photos by Alex Webb which show why the forest is still a mecca for UFO hunters today. Martin Laurance, former artist in residence at Orford Ness, talks about that abandoned and esoteric locale, once an MOD site, now a conservation area. The piece is accompanied by his vivid paintings of the Ness. He writes concisely about the powerful presence of the ruined buildings, once the province of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, that still scar the mysterious island. 

Other highlights include Sophie Curtis' deliciously folky piece on the saint day St. John's Eve, and Yalda Davis' moving and personal "Notes From the Nave". Artwork, a poem and a piece about the story "The Pedlar of Swaffham" are scattered throughout, and there is a full list of contributors at the back of the zine.

If you like a bit of hauntology, then "Eava Zine" will deliver it in spades as it is very reminiscent of things like Ghost Box or a less urban and more rural Iain Sinclair, and is, overall, a restful reading experience. It is perfect-bound and printed on matte paper, so not as glossy as other zines but no worse for that, and this seems to fit the contents. Even if you're not from East Anglia or Norfolk, you will find much to enjoy in these quiet pages. I look forward to the next issue.