Blessure magazine is an "ironic" publication that communicates through its anti-design layout

Date
17 September 2018

Blessure magazine, designed by France-based Chambre Charbon, is an alternative magazine drawing similarities between ten to fifteen different artists for every issue. ‘Blessure’ means ‘wound’ in French, referring to the novelist Jean Genet’s words on Giacometti. Genet admired Giacometti’s ability to capture the fundamental, raw essence of objects and people in his work, the encapsulation of a “secret wound” or “blessure secrète”. Similarly, in Blessure, the publication alludes to the sense of style and personality of each artist without text. The communication is solely through the artworks and the design.

The latest issue of Blessure focuses on the use of textures created by the computer, creating a new and contemporary language. There is no text, instead the images craft a unique narrative entirely subjective to each viewer. The tone of the artworks changes depending on the print layout and the other works they are interacting with. The 180-page publication features work from Brenna Murphy, core.pan, Deylan Seu, Everest, Jamie and Rickie McNeill, Marine Léauté, Marvin de Deus Ganhitas, Nicolas Sassoon, Sabrina Ratté, Ulysse C. Müller, Ville Kallio, Yannick ValGesto and Boris Détraz.

“I quickly made the decision to never feature the same artist twice, so that the magazine can mutate as quickly as possible”, Chambre Charbon tells It’s Nice That. Inspired by publications such as Weird magazine by Noel Freibert and Mould Map published by Landfill Editions, Blessure’s objective first and foremost is to focus on the artwork, secondly, on an anti-design aesthetic. Chambre Charbon describes the design as “pretty direct and oddly neutral”, calling itself a magazine in an “ironic” way and purposefully adding no value to the print run by choosing not to use risograph printing or spot colours.

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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Blessure magazine: Issue 4, Chambre Charbon

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About the Author

Jyni Ong

Jyni joined It’s Nice That as an editorial assistant in August 2018 after graduating from The Glasgow School of Art’s Communication Design degree. In March 2019 she became a staff writer and in June 2021, she was made associate editor.

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