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(re)cover - a collective vocabulary of self-care

(re)cover is a collaborative publication designed to explore notions of self-care.
Caring SocietyMental HealthWellbeing

recover is a collaborative publication designed to explore notions of self-care. Following an investigative process, the contents of this publication has been extracted and edited from anonymous contributions collected within an online open document, entitled Self-care Mixtape. Simplifying our data by converting these statements into a series of actions, listed alphabetically, reiterates their adaptability and allows the reader to recover their own understanding of them whilst simultaneously activating their movement, through reading. Alongside the listed actions, a series of self-reflective questions populate a blank space and invite the reader to make their own lists, further expanding the collaborative nature of this project. 

Accompanying this, is a visual essay by Giulia Cataldi, that consists of nine images taken during the lockdown period in 2020, an experimental poem, by Brooke Wilson, that takes the reader outside in a riddle-like dialogue between action and command, and a textile cover by Yun Jeong, that doubles up as the publications jacket as well as offering an abstract depiction of the home and a facial expression of happiness. 

As a collective, we have found a space to explore self-care through the development of this publication and hope its final manifestation enables you to do the same. 



Complete digital publication flip book

About (re)cover

When we started discussing ideas for our Caring Society project, we all agreed that we would want to open a discourse around ideas and practices of self-care. In particular, we started investigating the metaphor of the cover as the threshold between the private and the public and its role of protector of intimacy. Like the skin of our bodies or the walls of our home, it's a symbol of a comforting porous protective layer. How does it define our personal space?

The contents of this publication have been extracted and edited from anonymous contributions collected within an online to open document entitled Self-care Mixtape. This document has been live and open for one month - from the 20th of January to the 20th of February 2023 - and was anonymously accessible and editable to anyone who had the link. With few instructions given via email and social media, we invited family, friends and colleagues to interact with it, starting the conversation by writing down some questions that felt important to us in the hope that they might spark a reflection on individual self-care practices.

The A6 format was chosen for both practical and conceptual reasons. On one side, we wanted to operate on a small compact format that could easily fit into the pocket of trousers and jackets and allow the reader to carry it close to the body; on the other side it would allow for cheap and easy reproduction onto A3 paper sheets printed on both sides and folded into 16 double-sided pages.

Ideally, the self-care zine could be freely downloaded by anyone and, following a few simple instructions, be printed with any A3 printer.

A6 publication, hand-bound with stitches. Front and back cover are photographed from above. Plain blue cover, bright pink title.
side view of mini booklet
mini booklet held in left hand, front cover view
open mini booklet, left hand holding pages open and flat
mini booklet standing vertically and open to center pages, showing and illustration of a cherry tree
seven A6 postcards held in left hand. On one side of each there is one illustration, on the other a self-reflective question
two A4 cards held in left hand, on one side one illustration, on the other a self-care poem by Brooke Wilson
Four A5 cards held in left hand, on one side one illustration, on the other  text extracted form mini publication
eight A6 postcards laid flat in two rows
four A5 postcard laid flat in a row
two A4 cards laid flat on next to the other
fabric pouch containing all published materials
open fabric pouch laid flat and showing all published material
open fabric pouch laid flat and showing all published material