Secret Pleasures (Zine)

Previously available solely by purchase of Somesuch Stories #7 – we loved this zine so much, we printed an additional limited run.

Secret Pleasures' narrative was co-written by artist Jenkin van Zyl and author, Brittany Newell, during the development of van Zyl’s film, Surrender – which was presented to feverish acclaim at London’s Edel Assanti gallery in 2023. Similarly to the film, the zine’s unique story was partially inspired by 1930s American dance marathons a well as European depictions of Danse Macabres throughout the Middle Ages. 

van Zyl then created illustrations to echo the graphic textures of the printed materials, pamphlets and ephemera he discovered while conducting research at the Bishopsgate Institute into 20th-century sexual countercultures and secretive meet-ups, which took place across suburban houses, hotels, and community halls across the UK and beyond.

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Product Details

Text by Jenkin van Zyl & Brittany Newell

Artwork & Graphic Design by Jenkin van Zyl

Somesuch Editions, 2025

A5 format, 18 pp content + 4pp cover 

Litho-printed by Colt Press (UK)