What do these three have in common? The word ‘hypermart’ usually brings groceries and other household products to mind. You’d probably never think of a hypermart as a space for fashion and art.
And yet that is exactly what Untitled Collective did, when they decided to host a weekend-long festival at BIGBOX HyperMart from 20 to 22 October.
Self-dubbed as the “anti-elitist fashion art festival”, the Outsider Fashion and Art Festival featured various local and regional designers and artists, together with well-known names from the fashion and art scene.
If you were at BIGBOX, the festival was hard to miss. Located right outside the hypermart was a collection of apparels by NAFA fashion graduates.
As I headed inside towards the main festival area, these caught my eye:
I must admit, I was impressed – this was more than what I had expected for a fashion and art festival held in a hypermart. The different aisles and shelves that we are all familiar with were instead filled with artistic displays and fashion installations that made it seem no different from a museum or art gallery.
I was intrigued at how these installations and art pieces did not seem out of place – if anything, the venue seemed to break down the barriers between me and these art works.
It was only later that I found out this was exactly what Untitled Collective intended for, as they wanted to fuse fashion and art into a part of our daily lives.
According to an interview by Nookmag with one of the Fashion Directors Zachary Goh, he feels that “both fashion and art have a profound cause and effect on present society, often mirroring or even shaping pop culture, yet current fashion and arts festivals can come off as highbrow and ostracise the wider community. What OUTSIDER sets out to achieve is an open presentation that everyone can identify with, pulling visitors into the minds of these creative leaders from across the region.”
Respond, Not React
While looking at one of the art installations, I hear an unfamiliar voice.
“Hello, this is actually my art that you’re looking at.”
I turned around to find a lady with a warm smile, and began finding out about her and her work.
Andrea Goh is a graphic designer by day, and is also a NAFA graduate. This installation, titled ‘Respond, Not React’ was created with the intention to encourage more people to think before acting.
“When you search for the word ‘respond’ in thesaurus, react comes out as a synonym. However, the two actually mean very different things.”
She added that more often than not, we have been conditioned to react to an issue rather than to respond to it. She brings up a few examples – videos of accidents that have gone viral and leaving hate comments rather than attempting to respond to the issue at hand.
On the multiple television screens are four videos that play in loop. According to Andrea, each video has a different story. The one of a bloodied hand surfacing from a hole came from the story of a boy who attempted suicide through slashing his wrist, and was reaching out for help.
In another, it’s an artistic representation of physical and verbal abuse – these are stories that people are often quick to react to, but do not respond.
Soon after, a crowd gathered and I left to let Andrea speak to them instead. Later on, I came across one of the installations that piqued my interest.
Titled Unsent Letters, this installation by local artist Sab Koh seems simple – papers clipped to a wall.
However, this collection took 8 years to produce, and each letter comprises of a state of longing. It also acts as a way for Sab to preserve her memories. According to the artist, these letters are instead sent into a void.
As I wander around, I notice a lady who has been standing by one of the fashion installations for some time.
Batice Rebel
I come to realize that she’s one of the designers – Louisa.
Louisa says that the label, Batice Rebel, was founded by her and two other friends.
“We’re all from China, and we really love traditional Chinese art and history, so we decided to incorporate that into our clothes.”
According to her, these few pieces showcased are only a fraction of a large collection that the designers spent 22 months to produce. Although most of the label’s business is in China, Louisa hopes to share her love for fashion and Chinese art with Singaporeans.
Runway Within A Hypermart
The highlight of the event – the fashion show – began at 8PM sharp. Tall, gorgeous models donned the various apparels that could be found in the exhibition, and the show did not fall short of my expectations.
In fact, it was so professionally organized that I forgot I was in a hypermart.
Afterwards, the models themselves became part of the installations, posing at their respective aisles. This gave a breath of fresh air to the clothes and exhibitions.
The choice to organize the Outsider Fashion and Art Festival in a hypermart was a bold decision.
By situating a conventionally upper-class exhibition in a mundane everyday and relatable environment, the organiser successfully used the sharp contrast between the abstract and the familiar to invoke the imaginations of the attendees and bring art to the masses. True to its name, those that enter the exhibition look at these works from an outsider’s point of view with the intention to know the story behind them.
While this may seem like a small step taken towards tradition-defying exhibitions, it signals a start of more of these thought-provoking exhibitions and festivals to come.
To know more about this event and the inspirational individuals behind it, click here.
