UAOF Store 同族一潮 . 店 Now Open

UAOF - Unite Asia One Fashion Snaps

Door Front of the Store

Proud to be Asian!

 Hi Guys, its been almost 4months since my last post. Good to be back! Here's what I've been up: A RETAIL STORE and FASHION LABEL!

UAOF 同族一潮 was conceived with local pride and South East Asian vibes.

The guys behind the brand expressed their inspirations of South East Asian exposure and Singapore culture by designing garments that held steadfast to their beliefs. They believed by uniting together, South East Asia’s potential in the culture, fashion, design and the arts holds no boundaries. UAOF stands strong for Unite Asia One Fashion.

The UAOF Store (同族一潮 . 店) is where these tribal arsenals and accessories are. It is also the space where invited like-minded and cross-border brands, artists and designers can meet, trunk and collaborate.

Unite. We welcome you to be proud of our roots.

Expect more updates and the usual painting /illos. 2012 is gonna fcking awesome : )

ZOUK x DR. MARTENS Present #FIRST Exhibition: Ben Qwek (MRB) (Special Collab!)

The event's over, thanks to all my friends who came down to support: U.A.O.F, K.I.N, The Entourage, Jayne and Venon u know who you are! Big ups to the Zouks' gals for all the help. You can check out some features @:

Streething
Hypebeast

Please bid for my shoes for charity: HERE

The auction ends at about 8.30pm on the 13th of October. Bidding starts at $50 or can be bought immediately at $488.

They’re also on display at The Pigeonhole, 52&53 Duxton Rd till the 13th of October. Do drop by to check them out k. peace, B!

SURFACE Asia x Moving Stills

Featuring the works of Sheryo, Aiman, ClogTwo, Brendan Fitzpatrick, Kim Xu and Ben Qwek (MRB)

SURFACE Asia feature on the Moving Stills exhibition @ Vue Privee!

Head here to buy the prints: Vue Privee

Ben Qwek for ZOUK x DR MARTENS

"God Save The Slut"
My inspiration draws upon the iconic album artwork by Jamie Reid for Sex Pistol's “God Save the Queen”. “Redemption” and “Party Sluts” were the two main elements in the creation which consists of hand pulled silkscreened fabrics snitched like a ransom note and a DIY rosary.

Photo by Ivanho Harlim

ZOUK X DR. MARTENS COLLABORATION IN CELEBRATION OF ZOUK’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY & DR. MARTENS #FIRSTANDFOREVER CAMPAIGN

This October, Singapore’s nightlife Mecca Zouk has tied up exclusively with Dr. Martens to present a unique collection of the latter’s iconic 1461 3-Eye shoe specially designed by 20 of the scene’s players, trailblazers, creatives & thinkers alike in celebration of Zouk’s 20 glorious years of music, dance and culture and Dr. Martens’ #FIRST 1461 3-Eye Shoe Customization in Singapore.

In this union of two world-class lifestyle brands brought together through their mutual love for style, opening minds and pushing boundaries, each personality was given a pair of limited edition Dr. Martens 1461 3-Eye shoe - with their signature stitching in green instead of the iconic yellow - on which they can express their feelings toward the internationally-renowned club, incorporating the Zouk identity on their blank canvases with artistic freedom & creative liberation, thereby adding a quaint and personal touch to each design.

Progress snaps

The footwear, together with photos shot by acclaimed photographer Ivanho Harlim, will then be exhibited in Zouk, a mini art gallery in itself on 7 October 2011 and will be auctioned off post-event from 8 to 25 October 2011, with all proceeds going to Zouk’s adopted charity
for 2011: Make-A-Wish Foundation®.

Link for the auction as follows:
myworld.ebay.com.sg/zouksingapore

Zouk and Dr.Martens would like to extend a very special thank you to Ivanho Harlim, Martin Yeoh and the following contributors for making this collaboration a success.

BEN QWEK 

CARACAL 

DARKER THAN WAX 

EARN CHEN 

GUAN MIN 

HOLLY GRABAREK
JAHAN 

JASMINE TUAN 

KUANTH 

LARRY LAM 

LEFTFOOT 

MAX TAN 

OWNMUSE
:PHUNK STUDIO 

POPTART 

SHINICHI OSAWA 

SYNDICATE 

WEICHOONG 

YAN DA

Hope to see ya guys there, peace, B

"THE LONGING" for SHAPESHIFTERS3

Collab with Leia Ham

Custom Superga Shoes

Here's a snap of the actual.

Here's a recap of SHAPESHIFTERS3! Big thanks to Drayson, Max and all the good people who made SS3 possible. And congrats to Leia Ham and the rest of the students! peace, B

HERE.

SHAPESHIFTERS03

Hey guys, SHAPESHIFTERS is up this week. Drop by for a pre-national day art-feast with your local heroes alongside some up-and-coming students. Seeya there, local focal.

HERE.

3RD WARD OPEN CALL: Vote for B!!!

NEED VOTES SO THAT I ISH GO TO TAIWAN AND NYC!

VOTE FOR B!

Deadmau5 Head Design Competition

80sKIDS - Tokyo

Quirky hand illustrated juxtaposition of Japanese elements that inspired me as a kid growing up in the 80s. Nothing beats pin up centerfolds, 8bit video games and Ultraman!

Please head down to the link and like, share, and vote for my design. Head down to the link     

 HERE!

CAPCOM X IFS X MRB

Ben Qwek(MRB) with customed Viper deck.

Homies with their decks : )

In celebration of the new Street Fighter release, Capcom has generously donated eight skateboard decks, which will soon be auctioned off to benefit Music for Relief. These awesome decks were designed by the Imaginary Friends Studio artists pictured above. All proceeds benefit our ongoing relief efforts in Japan in partnership with Save the Children.

Link HERE. 

Stay tuned of more details : ) Peace, B!

Random 30 June

Randon 30June. Digital Collage (Dirty Minded). "let me pick your filthy mind" peace, B!

Moving Still Opening Party Pixs Uno

Pixs by ClogTwo.

I'm gonna keep this short. Thanks for all who came down to support and the crew for all the hard work. Love u guys, B!

Moving Still Giclee Prints for Sale @ VuePrivee

卒業 The Graduate

卒業 The Graduate (2011) Editions of 100. Giclée print on matte archival paper 

The Graduate 1967 was recognized as being “culturally, historically and aesthetically significant”. It become a “blueprint” film of the 60s. This piece is paying homage to the era, the start of the counterculture movement where movies broke social taboos such as sex and violence.

BUY HERE

Girls' Romances

Girls Romances (2011) Editions of 100. Giclée print on matte archival paper

Is love a desire or just facade for lust? Being inspired by the techniques of image making during the 60-70s, the artwork is a juxtaposition of illustrations and collages of romantic desires. 

BUY HERE

Robbin' Son

Robbin' Son (2011) Editions of 100. Giclée print on matte archival paper
In the film, the protagonist named (Benjamin) has an affair with an older married woman, Mrs Robinson. The name Mrs Robinson was insignificant in pop culture as in symbolizes having an affair with an older lady before the urban term we have now such as “Cougar” or “MILF”. This art piece reflects that by breaking down the name to “robbing a son” as the arts of sedction of an older lady is second to none. 
BUY HERE

Here's the prints for sale @ VuePrivee . 
Here's the facebook page: HERE.

SF4: C.Viper Custom Deck for Capcom for SDCC

The deck and some details.

Working on this for 2 days.

Thanks to my homies over @ IFS, I will be presenting a deck for CAPCOM. The decks will be auctioned off and the proceedings will be donated to charity. The deck's was created using silkscreen, maskings, letter transfer, acrylics. I dont need a good reason to draw C.VIPER.
She's HAWT. Will post the event pics soon, peace, B!

SF4: C.Viper Custom Deck for Capcom WIP!

DIY.

HUR HUR HUR. Stuff used: whatever in da studio: Silkscreen, paints, transfers. More soon, B!

Moving Still Opening Party

Catch 8 Asia-based artists!

One of the piece with its details

Color proofing @ the gallery's office.

Moving Still 23rd June - 4th Sep 2011

A group exhibition by eight distinguished artists, including a special video art commission by critically acclaimed film director, Glen Goei.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, its arguable that complex ideologies can be represented through a single image. On the flip side, in Moving Still, Vue Privee challenges Eight Asian-based artists, Aiman, Mr.B, Brendan Fitzpatrick, ClogTwo, Glen Go...ei, Jolene Lai, Kim Xu, and Sheryo, to turn this notion on its head. The artists reinterpret part of a dialogue or quote from a cinematographic frame into their own works of art.

The source of inspiration varies, ranging from scenes in Napoleon Dynamite, a three part Indie film by Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, to a video recording by the obscure oprea singer Klaus Nomi. The artworks created are not mere replications of original photographic stills, but rather, unique interpretations expressed through a variety of media such as oil on canvas, mixed media on watercolor paper, and digital illustration to name a few.

RSVP HERE.

peace! B

Random 14 June

Experimenting with collage techniques. I've always been intrigued by old school stuff...Enjoyed the process, not expecting anything and just let whatever comes in. Kinda artsy farsty huh, peace, B!