a talk about RAB-RAB PRESS & Publishing as Scaffolding by Sezgin Boynik

Rab-Rab Press is an independent publishing platform based in Helsinki. It publishes Rab-Rab: journal of political and formal inquiries in art and books combining experimental art and leftist politics with scholarly rigour and punk attitude.

The working hypothesis of Rab-Rab Press’s current project, tentatively titled Publishing as Scaffolding, is based on the idea that revolutionary, illegal, dissident and underground publishing practices introduce new forms of printing, typography, design and distribution; they change the very “techique” of printing. The project departs from the idea that transient, fluid and improvisatory publishing practices can introduce new organisational structures.
Scaffolding is made of cheap materials, is only put up temporarily and is dismantled or, if wooden, used for firewood as soon as the structure’s shell is complete. Additionally, scaffolding around a building facilitates communication between builders, enabling them to distribute work and view the results of their collective labour.