PHUNK

Snippet from CNA’s Singapore Hour spotlighting ‘Dreams in a Social Cosmic Odyssey’ (D.I.S.C.O.), our largest public art commission to date at the Promenade MRT station .

One Of Singapore’s Biggest Art Collections Isn’t Where You Think | Singapore Hour If you’ve ever taken Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit, congratulations: you’re a patron of the country’s growing public art scene. From ice cream parlours to f...

PHUNK’s iconic Love Bomb - aka the Fat Boy took its inspiration from the atomic bombs detonated in 1945. Both a man-made invention and a tool that has the power to destroy mankind, the imagery of the atomic bomb encapsulates the duality of creation and destruction, akin to Yin and Yang of Taoist philosophy. The Love Bomb carries the symbolic message that LOVE is the most powerful force in the universe.

To celebrate the collective’s 30th anniversary, PHUNK has collaborated with renowned Japanese craft studio 5th Generation Seiun Souemon Hara to create a special edition of the Love Bomb using the Japanese traditional lost wax casting method.

In lost-wax casting (rōgata), a wax model is coated with a refractory of sand and clay to produce a mold. The mold is then heated until the wax melts out of it. Next, molten metal is poured into the mold. Once the metal has cooled, the mold is broken open. By melting away the wax, a work of metal may be produced in the exact form of the original wax model. The lost-wax technique makes it possible to create more complex forms than other types of molds, and the finished pieces have the warm, flowing forms characteristic of wax objects.

The craft of the Hara family is created by the wisdom and ambition of their ancestors to add value to life and contribute back to the rich nature of Japan. It was designated as an Intangible Cultural Property by the prefecture in 1978. Due to the nature of the craft, organic process and material, each object produced is unique and ages beautifully over generations.

For the Love Bomb, each piece is individually hand-made by by master craftsman Satoshi Hara and his wife Yoshiko at their ancestral home and atelier in Kashiwazaki. The process starts from hand sculpting with bee wax to molding to casting with brass metal. The body is smoked black with a special smoking technique using dried pine leaves to achieve the charred effect on the body. The Chinese characters in gold are polished and finished by hand.
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Artwork title: Love Bomb （PHUNK 30th Anniversary Edition)

Medium: Brass Sculpture

Size: 30cm x 14cm x 14cm

Method: Japanese traditional lost-wax casting (rōgata)
Body smoked black with dried pine leaves with gold parts polished by hand.

Finishing: Edition of 10. Hand-made individually by order.
Individually numbered and signed by artist on sculpture.

Year of creation: 2024

Artist:
PHUNK x 5th Generation Seiun Souemon Hara

For enquiries: [email protected]

We are thrilled to honour 老夫子’s legacy by contributing to the 60th Anniversary exhibition with a site-specific video mapping work at the historical Temenggong Artists-in-Residence

老夫子 Old Master Q , has profoundly shaped our collective childhood memories and continues to inspire our artistic vision. 老夫子 has a unique way of using humour to address daily and social issues, making it a significant influence on our creative approach. The comic’s clever satire and whimsical storytelling provide a lens through which we can explore complex themes with a light-hearted touch. This ability to blend humour with insightful commentary resonates deeply with us at PHUNK, as it mirrors our own efforts to infuse our art with meaning and levity.

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𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗤 𝟲𝟬𝗧𝗛 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗔𝗥𝗬
Our Hearts As One

• Opens to public •
Sunday 21 July to Saturday 27 July 2024
Closed on Monday 22 July 2024
28 Temenggong Road Singapore 098774