Fresh take on heaven and hell

Control Chaos, a notable 2003 work by art and design collective Phunk, is set to be updated in the light of developments such as the Covid-19 outbreak

Phunk’s co-founders (above from left) William Chan, Alvin Tan and Jackson Tan at the Control Chaos: 25 Years Of Phunk exhibition at the National Design Centre. The trio, along with Melvin Chee (not pictured), founded the collective in 1994.
Phunk’s co-founders (above from left) William Chan, Alvin Tan and Jackson Tan at the Control Chaos: 25 Years Of Phunk exhibition at the National Design Centre. The trio, along with Melvin Chee (not pictured), founded the collective in 1994. ST PHOTOS: JOEL CHAN
Phunk’s Control Chaos work in a 2011 photograph.
Phunk’s Control Chaos work in a 2011 photograph. PHOTO: ST FILE
The monochromatic installation Love Bomb (above) features a replica of an atomic bomb labelled with the Chinese character for love. It signifies the duality of human creativity and destruction, while conveying Phunk’s belief that love is the most powerful
The monochromatic installation Love Bomb (above) features a replica of an atomic bomb labelled with the Chinese character for love. It signifies the duality of human creativity and destruction, while conveying Phunk’s belief that love is the most powerful force. ST PHOTOS: JOEL CHAN

Singaporean art and design collective Phunk is set to give a new look to one of its most notable works, Control Chaos, which depicts images of heaven and hell.

Created not long after the 9/11 terror attacks and the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak, the 2003 silkscreen print on corrugated board was done for a New York gallery exhibition, the group's first overseas solo show.

In the light of developments such as the Hong Kong protests and the Covid-19 outbreak, Phunk plans to roll out an updated version of the work this year.

"We find that Control Chaos is relevant even today. We created it in 2003, but in 2020, it seems we are experiencing that same chaos," says member Alvin Tan, 46.

He was speaking on the sidelines of an exhibition at the National Design Centre to mark the 25th anniversary of the collective started in 1994 by Tan and his three friends - Jackson Tan, Melvin Chee and William Chan - from Lasalle College of the Arts.

While Phunk is today one of the most recognisable names in the local graphic design scene, it has had its share of struggles.

"We were kids who loved Levi's jeans and Nike shoes. But there were no opportunities for us to work for brands like that in Singapore," Jackson Tan, 46, says.

Members used to e-mail international companies and mail them their designs by post.

To liven up Singapore's graphic design scene, they also started local creative ventures like Singapore's first design publication, Trigger Magazine, which was launched in 1998 and ran until 2003.

"What we didn't have, we created," says Chan, 47.

One opportunity led to another.

  • VIEW IT / CONTROL CHAOS: 25 YEARS OF PHUNK

  • WHERE: National Design Centre, 111 Middle Road

    WHEN: Till March 20, 9am to 9pm daily

    ADMISSION: Free

    INFO: E-mail info@phunkstudio.com

"When we were doing a show for Diesel Gallery in Tokyo, the managers for The Rolling Stones saw our works and invited us to design a series of merchandise for them," Jackson Tan fondly recalls.

Today, Phunk's body of work boasts collaborations with household names such as drinks brand Coca-Cola and car brand Rolls-Royce. They also collaborated with their childhood favourites Levi's in 2008 and Nike in 2010.

For the exhibition, members took segments of their earlier prints and pieced them together into a mural plastered across the exhibit walls. This work chronicles the group's career highlights since its inception in 1994, from big-name collaborations to their own solo creations.

On display, too, are their works such as a monochromatic installation titled Love Bomb.

The sculpture, a replica of an atomic bomb labelled with the Chinese character for love, signifies the duality of human creativity and destruction, while conveying the group's belief that love is the most powerful force.

On the group's evolution, Jackson Tan says: "In our teens, we were like sponges, absorbing everything vivid and visual in the world. When we grew older, we started looking inwards and that's when we began to build our own visual universe."

To young aspiring artists, Chan says: "It sounds cliched, but don't think too much and just do it."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 29, 2020, with the headline Fresh take on heaven and hell. Subscribe