Dead Format II: A Risograph Exhibition

Overview

Every format, medium and type of technology has its day. Some persist, but many pass by in blink-or-you'll-miss-it fashion. If you've got a landline handset clogging up your cupboard or an old cathode ray tube television in your spare room, then you know what we're talking about.

Others enjoy revival years after their initial heyday, or are adapted for a new purpose. Take the risograph, for example. The 80s high-speed digital machine was designed and marketed as a cheaper photocopier, then received a second lease on life when it became the duplication and printing method of choice of zine publishers and artists.

If it sounds like the type of format quite a few of the folks who frequent The Old Bar would use. In fact, the Fitzroy bar is paying tribute to the humble riso from 8pm on Friday, September 14, with 24 artists unleashing their interpretations of and experimentations with dying media. The exhibition isn't called Dead Format II for no reason.

If the exhibition inspires you, you can head to a risograph workshop run by zine publisher Helio Press. They book out quickly, so keep an eye on the website for more dates.