‘Out of Print’ Exhibition

As part of the exhibition “Out of Print”, SWELL was invited to contribute a new cover design for Ulysses by the Merlion by Edwin Thumboo and Facist Rock by Claire Tham.

Ulysses by the Merlion
Regarded by many as Singapore’s unofficial poet laureate, Edwin Thumboo’s poems often explore the themes of nationhood and history. In Ulysses by the Merlion, Thumboo grapples with Singapore’s complex cultural identity, highlighting in particular the tense way in which Asian and Western cultures co-exist in an often puzzling hybrid culture.

In approaching this brief, we were faced with tackling the “puzzling hybrid culture” of Singapore that is reflected both in the content and title of the book. We questioned the nature of the co-existence of two opposing elements (Asian and Western) and its reality. In response, we made subtle superficial changes to the appearance of the Merlion symbol to signify the questions and doubt surrounding the idea of cultural complexity. The typographic intent aims to achieve a visual disharmony with the Merlion symbol, again to address this seemingly obscure idea of cultural marriage.

Facist Rock
Fascist Rock is Claire Tham’s first collection of short stories. Tham’s clear, to the point sentences, sharp dialogue and almost cynical tone pierce throughout all of her stories, highlighting the recurring themes of non-conformity, rebellion and the general feeling of exasperation expressed by Singapore youths, who are the main protagonists in these stories.

The cover illustrations represent the characters who walk through Tham’s stories with disturbing familiarity. The objects and symbols embedded within depicts tension, violence, rebellion and oppression which are themes central to Facist Rock.