Lore
TRADITIONS AND KNOWLEDGE
ZINE BY OSCAR HERRINGTON
LORE is the first ever printed publication by New Zealand surf and ocean photographer Oscar Herrington. This 76 page Zine focuses on following a small group of friends around the coast of the South Island of New Zealand through the lockdowns and the high's and lows of 2020. The book is all shot in a unique black and white minimalistic style and the images carry the weight of the story accompanied by a few words.
South Island, New Zealand
What is LORE about?
LORE is my first ever printed publication which is a 76 page Zine that focuses on following a small group of friends around the coast of the South Island of New Zealand through lockdowns and the high's and lows of 2020. The book is all shot in a unique black and white minimalistic style and the images carry the weight of the story accompanied by a few words.
Why did you decide to make this zine?
In a time full of media overload, instant gratification and creative uncertainty I started to piece together this book to remind myself of the passion I have for creating images, making memories and sharing stories. This book is a documentation of my time on the South Coast of New Zealand in 2020.
When you began shooting early 2020, did you know that you wanted to make a zine? Or did you decide after the pictures were already taken?
From early in 2020, I had wanted to make a large copy of work that I was proud of. Initially, I wasn't sure if this would be an exhibition or another option. Then when Lockdown came in New Zealand I had a lot of spare time and I started playing around with a few more ideas and eventually settled on creating a Zine. I'm a big believer of keeping print alive and love the feel of seeing images in a physical sense such as a zine or a print. Due to new rules and restrictions, I felt like I could create an exhibition style experience for people all around the world without them having to leave their home.
How did you decide which images to include?
This was the hardest part of the whole process if I'm being honest. I wanted to share a variety of surfers and images and find a good balance between surfing, lifestyle and seascape imagery. The cutting process was ruthless and I could have happily made the Zine longer however I settled on 76 pages of what I saw as my best work and felt this collection worked well together. Each page needs to flow to the next so the design process also decided what images worked alongside one another and what images didn't.
What were some things you learned while making LORE?
Arrr there were so many things I learnt while making Lore. From aspects of design, to writing words to sit alongside my images, to shooting in extreme conditions, the whole project was a really big and awesome learning experience. Overall, it just made me realise how much I love what I do and I enjoyed the whole process from start to finish. The whole experience was challenging but so rewarding for myself so I'm just stoked to have made something I'm proud of!
What’s next for LORE? What’s next for you?
For Lore itself, I'm not too sure. At the moment it's just a one off project but since I had so much fun creating it there's potential for a second release after 2021. However, I would like to try and create something bigger and better again. As I said I've enjoyed this project so much and have put hundreds of hours into it so there are already a few ideas in my head for what's next. I do like the idea of creating a physical collection of my best work each year so I'd say keep an eye out for more things to come. I've only just turned 20 so I'm just getting started.
