In the weekend of June 25th/26th Our Rags Magazine, a project by Aimée Zito Lema and Elisa van Joolen, will finally launch. The official launch moment will take place on Saturday between 16.00-19.00 with an exhibition and a talk with Aimée Zito Lema, Elisa van Joolen and Elisabeth Klement at 17:00. There will also be a reading by Persis Bekkering, poems by Maria Barnas performed by children: Mia, Willem, Hasse, Samuel and Angelina. Moderated by Anik Fournier. DJ set by Cata Pirata. And on Sunday the exhibition will be on view from 12.00–18.00. Free entrance.

Location: Warehouse HQ, Hamerstraat 2, Amsterdam

Our Rags Magazine is a project that investigates transformative processes and proposes new forms of collective production aimed at the reuse of discarded clothing and textiles.

By manufacturing a paper from clothing rags, using it to make garments and subsequently a magazine, the pages of Our Rags Magazine don’t merely show the garments, but are the garments. As such this project and magazine shows the creative potential of recycling garments and textile and questions consumer behaviour.

The project started in 2019 with a workshop in which children were invited to imagine new ways of creating garments and new ways of dressing. The workshop revolved around dissecting discarded pieces of clothing brought in by the participating children. Subsequently, all garments were cut into small pieces and recycled into a new material: paper. A Dutch windmill in Loenen (NL) which still masters the age-old technique of transforming old rags in cotton-based paper transformed the shredded garments into coarse and tactile paper sheets that form the material base of Our Rags Magazine. Returned to the workshop participants, the kids collectively made highly imaginative garments from the rags-to-paper material shows in the magazine.

Designed by Elisabeth Klement, the magazine contains contributions by photographer Janneke van der Hagen and writers Maria Barnas and Persis Bekkering.

Limited edition of 68 copies. Each copy is unique, handmade, signed and sealed.

The first 25 copies are 350 Euro excl VAT and shipping.

Copy 25 – 50 are 450 Euro excl VAT and shipping.

Last copies price TBA.

Available at the launch and via the Warehouse webshop.

The project was supported by Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam and the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds.

Published by Warehouse | A Place for Clothes in Context.

Image credit: Our Rags Magazine, Aimée Zito Lema & Elisa van Joolen, 2022. Dimensions: 340 mm x 310 mm, paper made from used clothing. Graphic design by Elisabeth Klement, photography by Janneke van der Hagen.