SelfABUSE is an imprint of "cutting-edge" publishing firm (BR1GHT BL0CKS International) founded by the talented actionDAD and semi-talented Matt Williams.
actionDAD, a 19-year-old superhero, and Matt, a 50-something mediocre white man, have been inseparable since childhood, and their shared passion for irreverence, photography and alter-egos led them to join forces and start making 'zines. Their commitment to questioning the status quo, voyeurism and customer satisfaction has earned them a loyal following of odd-balls who appreciate their dedication to creating sometimes breathtaking, often baffling publications that exceed some people's expectations.
Mission & Values
Our mission is to provide inexpensive publications made up of a combination of lo-fi resolution, amateur design, and half-assed socio-political criticism that inspires and empowers our readers, while upholding our core values of creativity, collaboration, appropriation and poking fun at sacred cows, the art world, other mediocre white men and society in general.
We find photography wonderful and vexing, worthy of celebration and criticism. a tool of incredible power and a frivolous pastime. These paradoxes and others provide the foundation from which SelfABUSE explores, examines and dissects the medium. The core question of this exercise is something like this: If every photograph has already been taken/made countless times, what value does making them again and again have?
Does photography as a term, as a practice as a form of communication need a re-boot? We at Self ABUSE believe it does.
Hi, I'm actionDAD, a 19-year-old superhero, who used to love Instagram.
I try hard to make sure that most of the time I use my superpowers for good not evil.
I should have been wearing my mask in the photo to the right in order to preserve my secret identity but I was caught up in how freaking amazing it feels to defend truth, justice and the photographic-way and I forgot. If you recognize me please keep it under your hat (a wink and a nod in the coffee shop is ok). My life and the lives of those I care deeply about could be in grave danger if I was identified by those who find Self-ABUSE's critiques and criticisms a bit too on the nose.
Hi, I'm Matt, a 50 something-year-old mediocre white man, who loves the unearned, conferred, privileged status afforded him by the white-supremacist patriarchy.
It allows me to embark on flights of fancy like publishing 'zines that I expect people to take seriously simply because I had a hand in making them, not on any merits they may hold. It's pretty awesome Bro!
Believe it or not I found those sunglasses on the street and put them on because I thought it was funny. Then I had a brainstorm, the kind that launches hundreds of mediocre art "careers" each year. I would make a portrait of myself (a so-called self-portrait or "selfie") wearing the glasses and every other broke, lost, discarded pair I found from that point forward and create an archive that both criticizes and celebrates our disposable consumer culture, our obsession with self-examination and our endless pursuit of outside validation as well as the power of the photograph to communicate complex concepts simply and rapidly. I was on the road to art-stardom.
That was over three years ago. I still haven't found another pair of broken sunglasses on the street. My dreams have been dashed. Art is hard.
