Chutney #4, direct
128 x 202mm, 234 pages
London, UK
Every two years
Published since 2019
Editor & Art director: Osman Bari
Chutney is back! Edited and designed by magCulture staffer Osman Bari, we’ve experienced close up the ups and downs of its production, and are excited as he is to finally see the finished magazine.
Focusing as ever on everyday stories of identity and culture told by marginalised or misrepresented voices on their own terms, the issue is bigger and bolder than ever, with more pages and a lush pearlescent cover paper with blind embossed logo. Inside, the design retains it risograph roots, even if it is now produced using lithograph.
Split into the familiar three sections that reflect the process of making chutney—Chop, Mix and Preserve—the extra pages mean there are 21 stories this time. Superficially, things remain the same—edited and designed by Osman alone, the pages are a tightly knitted interlock of content and design—but dig deeper and you’ll find a change of tone in the new issue. As he notes in his editor’s letter, ‘I’ve been struggling with the cognitive dissonance of producing a magazine… while in the midst of genocides in Palestine and Sudan… state-sanctioned murder beyond, the suppression of trans lives, brutal deportations of migrants…’
It may have been a struggle, but the result is a vital piece of editorial creativity that shows how difficult messages can be beautifully expressed.
On the Journal
At work with Osman Bari: ‘…for the new issue, the front cover isn’t printed at all. Instead, the logo is subtly embossed on a sparkly pearlescent paper. The colour changes depending on the light—sometimes it’s rendered as a light blue, otherwise it can look teal-ish or even grey. The light illuminates the logo differently depending on the angle as well—it was fun to see people’s reactions at Offprint as they turned the magazine in their hands..’
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