I Want to Touch Rocks

A photozine reflecting on my experience and final exhibition studying abroad in Ireland.
I Want to Touch Rocks
Timeline: Fall 2025, 4 Weeks
My Role: Sole photographer
Program(s): Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, InDesign
I Want to Touch Rocks was my culminating project and exhibition during my study abroad semester on the rural west coast of Ireland. This project became a significant exploration of process, materiality, and place. It allowed me to experiment across new mediums (film photography and sculpture) and methods while engaging physically with the landscape through walking, cycling, and site-based research. I ultimately achieved a cohesive and thoughtful exhibition where the work was meaningfully connected and intentionally presented. 

Revisiting my film photography from Ireland and the concept of my exhibition, I established a structured timeline to design, risograph and screen print, and bind a photozine. I made decisive decisions to maintain momentum, which reinforced my belief in process-based making and strengthened my confidence in navigating uncertainty through hands-on practice. I started by making a paper mock-up of the zine to determine the size, number of pages, general layout, image and text placement. Then I was able to translate this into InDesign and bring my vision to life with print ready Master copies. 

I brought along a few copies of the zine to the 2025 Short Run Comix and Zine Fair where I traded with Austin English of Domino Books. If you would like your own copy, you can snag one here: https://dominobooks.org/touchrocks.html!
I Want to Touch Rocks final exhibition in Ireland. The bitmap master image I used for risograph printing. The bitmap master image I used to risograph print. The paper mockup I made to help layout this project. Binding of the zine in progress using dark blue waxed linen thread. A couple completed copies of the zine ready to trade or sell!