Tag: Sonny Liew

TOMORROW: Design Stories of Our Future

Communicate by Caleb Tan and Danny Tan.
Connect by Randy Chan and Lee Xin Li
Dress by Alfie Leong and Teresa Lim
Eat by Kinetic Design and Chris Chai
Learn by Lekker and Esther Goh
Live by Tan Cheng Siong and Sonny Liew
Play by Hans Tan and André Wee
Relax by Nathan Yong and Ng Xinnie
Travel by STUCK and Dan Wong
Work by forest&whale and Koh Hong Teng

What would a day in Singapore look like come 2065?

10 designers and 10 illustrators from this city present their visions of her future today.

Responding to 10 speculative questions of how we will communicate, connect, dress, eat, learn, live, play, relax, travel and work, these creatives were paired up to discuss and create stories together on one assigned aspect of life in Singapore on its centennial.

Through vignettes written by myself, concepts imagined by the designers, and narratives drawn by the illustrators, we invite you on a journey to discover the possibilities and pitfalls of life in this little red dot tomorrow.


Thanks to BLACK, I got the opportunity to pair up 10 Singapore designers with 10 illustrators to imagine futures for this upcoming SingaPlural 2017 exhibition.

Communicate: Danny Tan & Caleb Tan
Connect: Randy Chan & Lee Xin Li
Dress: Alfie Leong & Teresa Lim
Eat: Kinetic Singapore & Chris Chai
Learn: Joshua Comaroff &  Esther Goh
Live: Tan Cheng Siong & Sonny Liew
Play: Hans Tan & Andre Wee
Relax: Nathan Yong & Ng Xinnie
Travel: STUCK Design &  Dan Wong
Work: forest&whale & Koh Hong Teng

Come by the F1 Pit Building from 7 to 12 March to check out the exhibition. We’re also having a chat with some of the teams on 11 March, sign up here.

Book-ing into The National Gallery

Much attention has been given to The National Gallery’s architecture and collection, but less so are the equally beautiful exhibition catalogues and publications coming out from Singapore’s latest arts destination. While printed books may seem archaic in today’s digital world, they remain the best medium—for now—to allow visitors to take home the vivid artworks they encounter during their visits to the museum.

This was struck me after encountering Somewhere Else’s design for Seeing the Kites Again, a publication showcasing the expressive calligraphic strokes of artist Wu Guanzhong. The different paper types, the custom typography, and considered layout all come together to produce a handsome publication worthy of this artist.

The studio led by Yong has also produced an equally evocative pair of books for Wu’s Beauty Beyond Form and artist Chua Ek Kay’s After the Rain. 

PHOTO: SOMEWHERE ELSE
PHOTO: SOMEWHERE ELSE

Holding up the National Gallery’s two inaugural exhibitions on Singapore and Southeast Asian art respectively, both covering the 19th century to present, is a modern frame designed by H55 Studio. In creative director Hanson Ho’s typical restrained and minimal approach, Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore since the 19th century (Malay for “What is your name?”) is reduced to a single line to be filled in, while Between Declarations and Dreams: Art of Southeast Asia since the 19th century has its title visualised with Indonesian poet Chairil Anwar’s statement on the gap between the desire for national independence and its achievement in political terms debossed onto the cover.

PHOTO: H55 Studio
PHOTO: H55 Studio
PHOTO: H55 Studio
PHOTO: H55 Studio

Besides the catalogues, the National Gallery has also made an effort to produce research titles and children’s publications. The former is best represented by a collection of essays on arts and culture by pioneering Nanyang artist Liu Kang, elegantly packaged by The Press Room in a gold, black and white reader.

PHOTO: THE PRESS ROOM
PHOTO: THE PRESS ROOM

 

Of the many titles that have given Singapore illustrators the chance to introduce art to children, Warm Nights, Deathless Days, Sonny Liew’s take on artist Georgette Chen that comes in a thoughtful design of ampulets is a standout.

PHOTO: AMPULETS
PHOTO: AMPULETS