Cycles

by J.J. Zana

The first creation of the new Berlin based imprint bleu. is a book of J.J. Zana that required a rigorous and collective production process. Writer and translator Katie Archer (USA), designer Alan Bolumar and printer Che Huber (Switzerland), all worked hand in hand in order to create an original artwork, in both substance and form. Because indeed, Cycles seem to be, in today’s literature, hardly possible to classify—though it clearly follows a fragmentary aesthetics, explores the borders of narration, and introduces a certain form of thinking in the eleven sections of the book. The result is a text based on the theories of art and madness (or desire) that breaks, or intents to break the concept of genre—or gender. J.J. Zana (born 1985 in Marseille) is an artist whose main medium is writing. His first text (a translation from Spanish made in collaboration with Dani Zelko and Marie Bardet) has been published by Museum Reina Sofia (Madrid). He lives and works in Berlin. Bleu. is a new experimental project aiming to produce contemporary literature and music, initiated in Berlin by Nemo Ripoli.

126 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2021

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the English translation of this book in March 2022 by chance when visiting Berlin for a week, on the last day of my trip. The striking cover and size of the book fascinated me on first glance and from the moment I began reading it, I felt a tender connection to the prose and themes. I read the entire book on the airplane home, and the jet lag I experienced only heightened the cyclical nature of the writing as time stood still for me. I discovered the release of the English translation had only been made available a few days before my trip, and felt that it was a brilliant twist of fate I even discovered such a singular book.

[Lyssa Harakis-Parish · Rating 5 out of 5]

oml was this a breath of fresh air for art writing

[Axel Fonteyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought it because of the cover, read it because of the content. Quite weird and unorthodox, but I thought the author brought some interesting takes on art, creativity and writing. Not an easy book to read, even though it’s super short


nice 👍🏻