Urban art has long been defined by bold and rebellious visual expressions, mainly consisting of vivid street art, guerilla art and graffiti that adorn city walls. But in recent years, local artists have begun to break free from the confines of traditional urban art, pushing the boundaries to encompass new, experimental mediums.
From unorthodox music to custom automotive masterpieces, and a cutting-edge fusion of digital and virtual reality art, these innovative creators are redefining the landscape of urban art culture. The Aliwal Urban Arts Festival, organised by Arts House Limited, stands at the forefront of the cultural renaissance, providing an invaluable platform for these artists to showcase their distinctive works.
Returning on 25 Jan, 2025 as part of Singapore Art Week, the festival will unite a diverse array of artistic disciplines – from urban art and street culture, to traditional art forms like Nusantara drumming and Bharatanatyam dance, creating a dynamic fusion of the contemporary and the classical.
But even with avenues like this festival, urban art continues to be more niche in Singapore, faced with a range of challenges like negative societal perceptions, stringent regulations and spatial constraints.
Sludge Machines Chop 49 customised bike design Image credit: Sludge Machines
Artist Shairazi Saleh, better known as Razi of the Sludge Machines collective, shared in an interview with Catch that when they first ventured into automotive customisation about nine years ago, they moved from void decks to carparks and even a friend's front porch to carry out their projects. Razi quipped that the team used to call themselves the “Backyard Bike Builders”.
But these locations were far from ideal, plagued by spatial limitations and the potential to disturb neighbours with noise from their electric tools. The art form itself is also highly labour-intensive, involving extensive metal and fiberglass work to create custom bike body kits, handlebars, and more. Additionally, it's not very cost-effective, posing additional challenges for the team to sustain themselves.
So, why do they still pursue this art form? Razi had a simple answer: “100% passion”.
As hardcore bikers themselves, the collective was (and still is) constantly tweaking and personalising their own bikes, learning from YouTube tutorials and Instagram reels, and always seeking out creative solutions and fresh design ideas. Their work started to draw the attention of friends who requested to customise their bikes too, and from there on, the collective began taking on outside projects, gradually gaining more traction.
After years of hard work and combining the funds they earned from customisation projects, and forking out their own cash, the team of six managed to rent a proper workshop space. It’s still quite a cramped space, allowing room for only 10 bikes at a time, but Razi expressed that the team is content with what they have, and will continue honing their talents.
The team's passion for the craft kept them going, and they now offer more services ranging from custom fabrication to bike repairs, all built on a foundation of self-taught skills and a love for innovation.
Metamo Industries digital artwork for Culture Cartel 2020 Image credit: Life in Arpeggio
Other passionate artists at the festival this year include Race Krehel and Taketo Kobayashi of Metamo Industries – a collective of highly skilled artists specialising in high-end visual effects, digital art, immersive media and audio production, all utilising a quirky aesthetic Krechel calls “cyberpunk psychedelic”.
Similar to Sludge Machines, Krehel shared with Catch that securing funds to expand their projects has been challenging. Krehel quitting his former corporate job and registering Metamo Industries just before the COVID-19 circuit breaker in 2020 made this journey all the more difficult.
Still, the team never gave up, and have completed so many cool projects to date, including the digital edition of Culture Cartel in 2020 (pictured above), a metaverse concert experience for American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., and an interactive AR experience for Singapore Art Week in 2021.
Both Krehel and his close friend and colleague Kobayashi, are driven by a shared passion for self-expression. Krehel remarked that the pair’s friendship was sparked by their shared love for “geeky stuff” like Japanese Otaku culture, which the two often incorporate into their work.
Another key motivator for the pair is their desire to help other artists expand the possibilities of how their works are presented. Kobayashi explained: “We consider our artwork a platform for other artists, so they can have alternative ways to display their artworks, ways that work in the digital world and not in the real world”.
Graffiti artist ANTZ from RSCLS designing a sofa cover for Aliwal Urban Arts Festival 2025
Like Krehel and Kobayashi, graffiti artist ANTZ from the collective RSCLS continually seeks unique ways to reach and engage wider audiences through his artworks.
ANTZ creates large-scale works that challenge traditional urban art boundaries and resonate with the public. He shared with Catch: "I want to be able to pass certain messages to the masses and challenge myself by painting on different surfaces”. So, for this year’s festival, he teamed up with New Opera Singapore to spray-paint a custom sofa cover for the musicians to sit on during their performance, moving away from the traditional graffiti-on-walls approach.
The festival also gave him the opportunity to reach wider audiences and mingle with other artists – forging stronger bonds within the urban art community – which in turn allowed him to explore new cultures as inspiration for his work.
weird aftertaste experimental music collective Image credit: Esplanade - Theatres by the Bay
Speaking of reaching new audiences, Aliwal Arts Centre tenant and experimental arts group weird aftertaste also tapped on the festival to spread their weird and wonderful music, which they describe as “the complete opposite of familiarity and expectation”.
They shared with Catch: “In one show you might get aggressive experimental electronic noise, while in another you might get the most desiccated of academic classical music. Sometimes, in the same set, you get both. We try to take risks, and attempt to make each project distinct and unpredictable”.
Their music might be an acquired taste for some, but that’s the beauty of weird aftertaste and all the other above-mentioned arts groups – they embrace the uniqueness of their art forms and push it further. Even though urban art forms like theirs are often marginalised or undervalued in mainstream circles, these artists remain steadfast in their pursuits.
ANTZ elaborated: “Of course in such a digital era, the hype and acceptance of urban art has grown so much over a short span of time, but the issue now is that we need to educate people about the roots of these various art forms so they truly understand it”.
For instance, there is a common misconception that graffiti art consists of random – and sometimes vulgar – sketches, and can be perceived as eyesores, but for ANTZ, a lot of his works have deeper meaning and are often heavily inspired by Chinese culture, religion, mythology and mystical creatures, which the general audience may not be aware of.
That’s where platforms like Aliwal Urban Arts Festival come in – to spread further awareness on the various aspects of urban arts, including very niche ones, and give these creators a voice, allowing them to not only celebrate their craft but also build recognition and sustainable careers.
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