Dummy #1
185 x 255 mm, 84 pages
London, UK
First published in 2026
Editor: Hannah Regel
Guest editors: Rachael Allen and Josie Mitchell
Dummy is a new magazine devoted to contemporary criticism on ‘obscure, difficult, or overlooked’ art and writing from creatives of historically underrepresented backgrounds. ‘With Dummy we are not so much creating a community as offering another space to one that already exists,’ write Rachael Allen and Josie Mitchel, guest editors of this lime green inaugural edition.
This issue platforms books deemed ‘difficult’ or challenging reading—particularly those ‘shaped by thinking through class and queerness’—delving into both the material itself and the genesis of these assumptions. Inside, Sarah Bernstein’s opening essay reflects on her time spent teaching a class addressing ‘The Politics of Difficulty’, underpinning the ethos of this edition; P. Eldridge shares the radical publications Gendertrash from Hell (1993-95) and TransSisters (1994-95) that informed her anarchist zine Sissy Anarchy, devoted to platforming trans and queer identities; and Taylor Le Melle delves into June-Alison Gibbons coveted novel ‘The Pepsi-Cola Addict’, questioning whether the tragic upbringing of June-Alison and her twin sister Jennifer is an appropriate framework through which to approach the text.