Electric City: An imaginary, hybrid megalopolis from :phunk
Control Chaos by :phunkOne of Singapore’s top graphic design and art collectives, :phunk is a four-man team composed of Alvin Tan, Melvin Chee, Jackson Tan and William Chan. They are part of a small but burgeoning scene of creative outfits with strong links to their Japanese contemporaries in Tokyo. Their upcoming show Welcome to Electricity at Diesel Denim Gallery Aoyama is their first solo exhibition in Japan, centering on a huge 8.4 meter x 3 meter mural that depicts an imaginary, hyper-globalized urban space churning with myriad cross-cultural influences. CNNGo caught up with the four guys to talk about Singapore’s nascent design culture, old-school amusement parks, and globalized theme park cities.
CNNGo: Your work features motifs that can be traced to Japanese otaku subcultures and manga, Hong Kong martial arts, American pop graphics and more. Is this mishmash of cultural influences fairly typical among peers from your own generation in Singapore?
:phunk: I think a lot of our peers can relate to these influences too, but they might not be reinterpreted or visually communicated in the same way. It’s not just Singapore, though -- we have peers in cities such as Paris, Tokyo, New York, Taipei and Barcelona who share the same passion for "Star Wars", "Sesame Street", British indie pop, Doraemon, Buddha's Palm and Journey to the West.
