2000–10

Originally rooted in graphic design, this biannual journal was initially defined more by what it wasn’t than what it was—neither academic nor commercial, but interested in something more experimental and literary. Its remit broadened to include as much music, film, fine art and the other humanities. The journal also became invested in publishing as a subject matter itself, though this mostly played out through the manner in which it was published as opposed to essayistic reflection: an inventory of its debtors was listed on the cover of #9 to make a point about independent publishing; #10 was a “best of” the first nine; and later issues were often compiled in response to invitations from art institutions, doubling as exhibition catalogs on a given theme.

In view of breaking this increasingly self-reflexive trajectory, after 10 years and 20 issues it morphed into a related but more ambitious project, The Serving Library. A number of early articles were republished as DDDG: Extended Caption (Amsterdam: Roma, 2009) alongside an eponymous exhibition of a collection of objects originally illustrated in the journal’s pages.

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