The Thousands

Publishers of Tell Mum Everything Is OK, Editions FP&CF, call it a “participative fanzine.” That’s only slightly less true of issue #5, the most recent, in which they offer a (delightfully sincere) caveat justifying their decision to directly solicit some outside photographers for the first time. The result is consistent with previous issues, which were submissions only: this is a collection of images representing contemporary photography, packaged into a lovely-to-hold 140g-paper fanzine.

‘Contemporary’ photography, as a label, is now perhaps as useful as describing ‘electronic’ music or ‘modern’ art. In this case, it refers to images possessing an understated je ne sais quoi: teenagers in an arcade, coiling liquids, refractions in a glass, landscapes, a drying watermelon. Beyond proving that a picture is worth a 1000 words, these banal descriptions highlight that these aren’t images of obvious poignance, or grandiose artistic vision. Similarly, they’re not chasing lo-fi titillation. The collective, open nature of the project means that despite a clutchable theme, individual photographers will appeal to some more than others. Editions FP&CF link every photographer from every issue on their site, meaning you can explore further.

Tell Mum Everything Is OK is, ultimately, moments. And that makes them relatable. Sometimes, it seems to say, the completely ordinary is just spot on.