'DOOM SMOOTHIE: The Zine Born From the Lockdown Blues' / Saeed Ali interviews Ansam
On a poorly connected, pixelated video call, I briefly caught up with Melbourne based multidisciplinary creative Ansam to share a few words about Doom Smoothie, with its newest edition launching soon. Doom Smoothie centres around Blackness and chaos. Volume 2 features reworked photos from dear friend Charlotte Frimpong’s recent travels to Ghana, and its loaded imagery is poignant and expressive.
I had a chance to have an advanced look at the second edition of Doom Smoothie… I really love the zine. What made you want to create it?
Thank you. It was born of a sense of urgency to do something. Then I was kind of like, well, I have got all of this spare time at home, I have got a laptop and some photos… besides myself, what is actually stopping me from doing something tangible? I just wish there were spaces for people to just exist without inherently being anything, like yes it was because of the social and cultural climate at the time but also, I just did it.
Can we just briefly go over your distinct style you have developed here?
Doom Smoothie so far has aesthetically been pretty chaotic. Nothing is supposed to look perfect. I really enjoy stepping into and embracing incoherence and imperfection. Accepting this has really coaxed me out of my own bubble. I think that it’s so easy to get bogged down in perfection that you can end up being really creatively lost and insecure.
You do not need a certain type of laptop or a certain type of aesthetic or a certain type of eye or a degree… if you have an idea and resources in any capacity, then there is likely a way for you to do what you want to do. But I get it, it’s really hard. I guess that’s where you need to let go of wanting to nail everything the first time.
So what types of software did you use to create the Zine?
I didn’t use any extravagant form of software. I just used photos I’ve taken over the years and just did as much as I could to collate it into something meaningful on Pages and iPhoto. There is such a clout around being trained in a certain field, I don’t really believe people should be held back by structures and institutions like that in a creative sense. Also, zines are such a versatile thing. They’re effectively whatever you want them to be and can mould into whatever form you like. That’s probably why I’m even drawn to making one.
What would you say are some things that inspired you to create Doom Smoothie conceptually?
I just really wanted to do something. Like if you’re Black right now your work is automatically politicised. I often get worried, when engaging in creative work, of just being consumed into that same pigeonhole of tokenism. Like, you are viewed as a Black screen printer’ or a ‘Black writer’ or a ’Black DJ’, but when you create on your own, you can absolve yourself of that. I find that really empowering. Also, being able to collaborate with friends and empower them in a similar way as well is important to me. Making a physical copy of work, having it be as accessible as possible and hearing feedback from loved ones has been really special.
Be sure to pick up a copy and contribute, we will be directing 50% of proceeds to Black Rainbow, supporting LGBQTI+SB folk through advocacy and leadership initiatives.
Words by Saeed Ali (@kllrmnjaro)
Ansam (@bbrbrzy)
Charlotte Frimpong (@c.frim)
Cover Image: Doom Smoothie Vol2: Doom Smoothie x Charlotte Frimpong (releases soon)
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