We get Moan Zine, a Nottingham-based erotic magazine, to bring their gorgeous art style to the cover of LeftLion. They tell us all about their process and the importance of their publication…
Tell us a bit about yourself…
Moan was born in 2018 and is a women-led publication with the core aim to tear down the stigma attached to female pleasures by liberating women and creating a strong community. We depict and discuss eroticism, pleasures, fantasies and kinks through a female perspective and take control of the subject; a narrative that the mainstream sex industry doesn't often highlight.
What was the inspiration behind the cover?
With this being the January issue, I wanted to visualise newness and futurism while still holding familiar elements that make us feel comfortable. I wanted to depict a strange yet familiar ‘party’ scene, with elements of bizarreness and surrealism. Is my prediction for 2022 that we’ll be partying in space, in front of the moon and floating/sitting around a table-sized orange slice? Maybe not, but we will see a lot of digitalisations, longingness for escapism, friends, city landscapes and change.
What was the biggest challenge that you faced in creating the piece?
Apart from stepping out of my comfort zone with the colours, in a time where the world feels very pessimistic, it can be hard to not let that cynicism translate in your artwork. I had to put music on that made me feel energised and excited for the future, which was a nice form of escapism for myself.
What have you got planned for the future?
I’ve just opened submissions up for Issue Four which is super exciting. It’s our annual publication which features people from all over the world – and from the submissions and collaborations that have already been created, I know that this will be our best issue yet!
Is there anything else you’d like to tell the LeftLion readers?
If you haven’t already and you’re liking the sound of Moan, I would highly recommend picking up Issue Three: a big middle finger to the complexities of society which oppress and shame sexual liberation for women.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
