October’s Things offers up wastemen, a prawn dumpling, faux prescriptions and a pink magazine

It’s October. What the hell. Where did September go and the last of the warmth too? Because over here in London, it feels as if summer was a distant memory. But thankfully we have the latest edition of Things to keep us occupied.

From an NHS prescription that is not what it seems to a self-published zine on the wasteman, this month’s slightly reduced batch of goodies takes us on a geographical whirlwind. From sketches in Hong Kong to the wild scapes of The Peak District, without further ado, here’s October Things.

Henry Chung: Wasteman

Volume one of the self-published zine Wasteman chronicles a selection of illustrations, quotes, photographs and comics either sourced or drawn by illustrator Henry Chung. Inspired by some true events, and all revolving round the theme of the “wasteman” – but not in the derogatory Patois slang definition, more the actual trash sense – the black and white self-published zine journeys round a South London suburb, as well as Hong Kong and New York, to explore the universal idea of the wasteman, and what they get up to in different corners of the world.

Kat Wood: Prawn Dumpling

Photographer Kat Wood takes us on a tour of her wild and beguiling farm in The Peak District’s National Park. In Prawn Dumpling, a new photography book published by Ceremony Press, the Glasgow School of Art graduate embarks on an environmentally-inspired project to capture the ins and outs of her family’s working farm where she grew up. Documenting the daily labours of working on the vast land, as well as the charms of being surrounded by spring lambs and fluffy ducklings, Prawn Dumpling rediscovers Kat’s surrounding environment that she had grown increasingly detached from during her years at art school.

gal-dem: The Unrest Issue

gal-dem is back for it its fourth annual print issue, continuing to break down stigmatised barriers in the media through creativity. Centering around the theme of un/rest, the publication is split between two contrasting sections that the gal-dem team equate to Beyonce’s altar ego seen in her acclaimed album I Am… Sasha Fierce. Released last month, the issue explores those contrasting energies that seem to be taking up more and more of our precious time.

It’s the working overtime, the dedication to grassroots organisations, the anxious sleepless nights, the late night parties – basically anything that causes unrest – that this issue explores. Featuring conversations with the likes of Little Simz and Tierra Whack, not to mention over 40 contributions from a wide range of voices, photographers and illustrators, the issue seeks to offer balance to the craziness of modern life through the endless lens of female creativity and non-binary people of colour.

The Pharmacy: San Scout

When we first came across this prescription-cum-design project, we thought there must have been a mistake. “Who has mistakenly left their prescription on our desks?” we asked ourselves on first seeing the blue and white NHS prescription bag. But when no one claimed the prescription and we took a peek into the bag, we saw that it was in fact, a bit of a trick and in fact, and a design project exploring the idea of music as a prescription drug guised as medication.

Inside the faux-packaging, the prescription leaflet invites the reader to “experience a musical conversation that comes with an audio-visual virtual reality experience.” Offering instructions on how to gain access to said experience, The Pharmacy also discloses possible side effects that may, or may not, effect the listener. Nausea, feelings of wellbeing or non-wellbeing included.

Sindroms

The latest issue of the biannual magazine Sindroms explores our state of mind through curated content centred on colour. Its fourth issue is pink and takes us through five associations with the traditionally “girly” colour. Youth, naivety, euphoria, intimacy and artificiality are also investigated in this pink-tastic magazine. And through 180 pages of thoughtful editorial content peppered with striking visual essays throughout, this fourth edition of Sindroms takes its readers on a microscopic dive into “the actual feeling of euphoria – endorphins and all.”