UHMZINES INTERNATIONAL BRUTALISM SERIES #1-4

TITLE - UHMZINES INTERNATIONAL BRUTALISM SERIES #1-4 

CREATED BY - STEFANO SAMA & GUEST PHOTOGRAPHERS 

GENRE - BRUTALIST ARCHITCTURE WORLDWIDE

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - UNITED KINGDOM 

A5/24 PAGES/BLACK & WHITE/PAMPHLET/CARD COVERS/LIMITED TO 50 COPIES EACH

PRICE - £5.00 EACH + SHIPPING FROM UHMZINES ETSY STORE

Stefano Sama is the creator of the cool and clinical photographic zine "Brutal" (see my review here) which documents the Brutalist architecture of various British cities. In this new series he has pointed his lens at the Brutalism of other countries, with the help of local photographers. There are four issues so far in a limited run of 50 copies - 

ICELANDIC BRUTALISM / PHOTOGRAPHER - KARL F.SAEVARSSON 

SCOTTISH BRUTALISM / PHOTOGRAPHER - DAVE LOWE 

JAPANESE BRUTALISM / PHOTOGRAPHERS - MAKOTO ABE & KAORI MURAKAMI

BRUTALIST ARCHITECTURE IN ROME / PHOTOGRAPHER - STEPPP 

Looking through all four zines, it is clear that Brutalism follows certain set rules, but each country has its own spin on it. Iceland has residential buildings and swimming pools that resemble nuclear bunkers, but also a banking building with groovy '60s style decorations. Scotland's architecture is obviously the most similar to England's: all monolithic tower blocks and looming office complexes, yet the notes tell us that these are listed buildings. A clear example of how Brutalism has become accepted and even revered. 

Quirkily, the Japan edition has been printed in the usual Japanese way - you start reading from the back. Their Brutalist architecture has probably the most "fancy bits", with flourishes that closely resemble Middle Eastern temples, but still flies the Brutal flag with the Okinwawa museum which looks like the supercomputer "Deep Thought" from the Hitchhikers' Guide To The Galaxy.

Stefano Sama takes over the lens for a study of his hometown of Rome. Not a city one would immediately think of as a symbol of Brutalism, but there are gems to discover, mostly dating from the 1970s. Oddly for one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in my opinion it has the least beautiful Brutalism - all geometric shapes haphazardly arranged, and giant slabs of unfriendly concrete. 

Photography is starkly crisp throughout, the monochrome delivering uncompromising images of Brutalist architecture in all its solid power. The photos are captioned with the name of the building, the architect responsible and the year they were built. Details of the camera and films used can be found on the Etsy store. 

Architecture buffs and fans of those books about Russian bus-stops will love these zines. As I said in my earlier Brutal review, the Uhmzines titles are a pure distillation of all that's good and bad about Brutalism, with only the barest text - these photos tell their own story.