Local Context

Homegrown artist Hafiiz Karim’s digital creations depict classical art muses in modernday Singapore

Digital artist Hafiiz Karim depicts classical art muses in modern-day Singapore

One glance at Your Favourite Drink Stall Auntie and Singaporeans will immediately recognise its reference to the local hawker culture. After all, it is an integral part of the Singaporean way of life. But the woman featured in the digital artwork isn’t your typical drink stall vendor. Instead, it is Amazon queen Eurypyle, whose portrait had been etched out from a 1920 painting of the same name by English artist John William Godward.

The whimsical creation is part of digital artist Hafiiz Karim’s Visitors of Singapore series, a collection of 50 works featuring scenes and experiences unique to the city state, superimposed with famous classical art muses. While recontextualising classical art against the backdrop of modern society is nothing new, Hafiiz wanted to “reimagine how these figures would look like in Singapore”. The series, which he started in 2018, is showcased at @thenextmostfamousartist on Instagram and the website thenextmostfamousartist.com.

The Next Most Famous Artist is a moniker the digital art director at an international advertising agency adopted after being inspired by American conceptual artist Matty Mo, who goes by name, The Most Famous Artist. This is Hafiiz’s response to the viral nature of today’s social media landscape, where he “wanted to create a persona that pokes fun at this drive for fame and success”.

His unique style results in a series of stark imagery, each accompanied with a dose of humour or sarcasm.

For example, the classical model in British painter Frederic Leighton’s Flaming June is curled up at the back of a public bus, mimicking an alltoo-familiar sight for the working class on a slow and sleepy Monday morning. In The Purification,

Saint Sebastian stands in the middle of the Rain Vortex at Jewel Changi Airport, suggesting that he was taking a casual shower in the mall.

“The locations I select are often ones that many would find familiar and modern in our cultural context. After superimposing the classical figures in the photographs, viewers will be able to relate to the work better with their own experiences and memories,” Hafiiz explains. “By doing so, it also invites them to add to the narrative surrounding the featured landmark.”