Join us for the launch of Get Low, Like Bumpkin Cannon 土炮之书, a zine produced by Ye Funa as a project outcome of the 2024 Librarians-in-Residence programme. The publication is an archive of the research and activities carried out during her residency, featuring newly commissioned texts, artwork and comics, including edited archival material.
Get Low, Like Bumpkin Cannon 土炮之书 records Funa’s reflections on the concept of ‘earth’ 土, documenting her research into local Chinese self-publishing practices, the relationship between art and labour, fan cultures and DIY subcultures. It champions the ‘bumpkin cannon’ 土炮 aesthetic as a remedy to cultural homogeneity, commodification, and capitalist exploitation, offering an imaginative, autonomous and disruptive form of creation cultivated from the margins, as a more decentralised form of knowledge production. The zine delivers a titillating blend of thematic investigations into core questions such as: why is copying seen as incompatible with creativity? Why is art often not considered to be labour? What does it mean to embrace ‘active laziness’? Read her ‘Love Letters’, including an interview with self-publishers Display Distribute and Fuyin.info; or hungrily leaf through the ‘Earthy Bumpkin Kitchen’ menu, where Yifan Wang serves up bitesize summaries of archived programme events.
The launch will feature a conversation between Funa and Lu Williams, founder of Grrrl Zine Library. We are pleased to announce that Get Low, Like Bumpkin Cannon 土炮之书 is a free publication which visitors can take with them on the night.
Get Low, Like Bumpkin Cannon 土炮之书 (2025) is authored by Ye Funa and published by Asymmetry. It features contributions from writer Yifan Wang, artist Zijie, and Bi Xin, Elaine W. Ho, Yasmine Anlan Huang, Mabu Li, Dr Ruoxi Liu, Bart Seng Wen Long, Shao Mohan, Ruini Shi, Tian Jiayi, Ziyi Wang, Matthew Worley, and Dr Linzhi Zhang. The zine is edited by Yifan Wang and designed by TangTang.
Access Information
This event takes place on the ground floor with step-free access in our multi-purpose programme space, with a fully accessible, all-gender bathroom.
Please feel free to inquire with info@asymmetryart.org if you would like to discuss any access needs. Please kindly be advised that requests should be made one week in advance of the event, and we will try our best to make accommodations subject to availability.