Art and The Absurd: A Review of The Elegist Collective
Founded in 2023, The Elegist’s Collective is a socio-political and artistic space that stands for inclusivity and freedom.
By Lyndsey Harrison
“A group of friends and acquaintances who were looking for a space to hold critical conversations and explore new ideas” - The Elegist Collective
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The aim of The Elegist Collective is to not only share knowledge but also to inspire action, encouraging their audiences to remain proactive instead of feeling powerless.
The Elegists project is organised around “epochs”. The collective chooses a theme and then they build the zine and the events.
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The themes of the epochs are purposefully broad and vague, the collective want to give contributors the opportunity to approach the theme any way they want to. The zines, the work in the zines, and the events are all an interrogation and an exploration of the theme. “We want to poke and prod at it from every direction, explore it through every medium we can” says Lilka, head of admin at the collective.
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The Elegists have independently published three zines to date: On Silence, Blue, and Rage.
EPOCH ONE (ON SILENCE)
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This is the first Issue published by The Elegists. In this Issue, they deliberately keep themes and topics broad to allow readers the freedom to interpret each topic in their own way.
Throughout the Zine, the concept of ‘silence’ is interpreted both literally and metaphorically. As a result, this beautiful journey through varied yet linked stories, poems and photographs that all surround the power of silence and sound is created.
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EPOCH TWO (BLUE)
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The second Issue was published in September 2023. Like ON SILENCE, The Elegists chose vague themes which allow for varying interpretations by their readers.
When thinking of the colour blue, it is often associated with feelings of sadness and cold, but in our day-to-day lives it is more commonly related to blue skies and blue seas. In this Issue, readers are taken on an immersive journey, where blue is considered as a colour, emotion and environmental element.
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EPOCH THREE (RAGE)
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The third epoch was published in July of 2024. The purpose of this epoch is to host conversations about political and societal topics that encourage passion and evoke anger.
The Elegists held many events to promote this zine, such as open mic nights and poetry readings. This is common for the Elegists, hosting these events for every epoch they release as a way for members and consumers to familiarise themselves with the chosen topic. The style of each event is dependent on the chosen theme, so In the case of Rage, it was full of colour, noise, and debate.
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COMING SOON: EPOCH FOUR (EGO)
This epoch will surround ego and self-reflection, how ego can relate to us, others and to The Collective. The Elegists say that self-esteem interpretation of ego is tainted by capitalism; that capitalism is to blame of people’s excessive desire to obsess over appearance.
“The duty of performance” they call it.
This edition will take readers of yet another journey, this time investigating their ego. The Elegists are currently looking for creatives to enter their poetry, photography, and artwork to be features in their Spring 2025 edition. Click here to enter.
