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Founded by Theseus Chan in the year 2000, WERK magazine burst forth as a radical vision in the world of publication design. Each issue is a completely different object to the last, and together they form an artistic insurrection against the conventional fabric of printed matter. Each issue is also collaborative, and since STEIDL-WERK No.23: MASAHO ANOTANI "DEFORMED" of 2016, five of those collaborations have been with Steidl, including the latest: STEIDL-WERK No.32: MANIFEST. Featuring new drawings and texts by Chan interpreting and recasting the sights and sounds of Steidl at Düstere Strasse 4 in Göttingen, MANIFEST embraces spontaneity, imperfection, humor, play and the unpredictable. "This is our creed," declares Chan, "STEIDL-WERK is a manifesto rendered in ink and paper, a continuous revolution that reimagines what a magazine can be-an art piece, a rebellion, a discovery in every edition. We are the art of print, ever evolving, perpetually redefining the essence of how stories are told."
About the author
Born in Singapore in 1961, Theseus Chan is a graphic designer and artist with a passion for printing materials and techniques and an unconventional approach to typography and design. Chan incorporates all kinds of paper in his work—from the cheapest, even rejected sheets, to the most luxurious—and transforms them through experimental combinations of offset printing, silkscreen, lithography and acrylic inkjet. Chan re-invents the graphic and printed identity of his acclaimed magazine WERK from issue to issue, and has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, photographers and designers including Keiichi Tanaami, Rose Wylie, Comme des Garçons and Costume National. He was Designer of the Year at the inaugural President’s Design Award Singapore in 2006.
