James Dive recently journeyed to Singapore, the birthplace of Tiger, to experience the heat, vibrancy and liveliness of its street culture, meeting fascinating locals and sampling food from countless street vendors. Whilst there he gifted each vendor a brand new wok, replacing and taking their old ones, caked with noodles, stained by smoke and still hot; in order to create a new story.
Back in Australia and New Zealand, Tiger and Dive have challenged our best artists, graphic designers and sculptors to use these woks as canvases, to create art inspired by the bustling streets, passionate street food vendors and intense heat of Singapore. The result is 20 unique objects, which tell stories both through the artworks on their surfaces and through the woks themselves, dented, blackened and full of character imbued by decades of use on the streets of Singapore.
Six of the woks (and by far the coolest ones in our opinion) were transformed by Kiwi aritists. These talented folk are Erin Forsyth, a self-taught visual artist born and raised in Auckland, who has contributed to the arts since the early '90s in just about every way you can imagine; John Lancaster another Auckland based painter, dynamic landscape artist, and creative; Nicholas J Boyd, a young oil painter who creates mainly abstract works which muse on the mysteries of existence; Flox, a graffiti artist with a fine art degree who made her start transforming the dull grey of Auckland's concrete into lush landscapes, bursting with colourful flowers and native birds; Nik Dolman, a Christchurch-based artist who creates twisted amalgamations of found images, in order to explore and expose our obsession with mass media and pop culture, and Louise Mcrae who creates assemblage art, paying tribute to great forests cut down in Northland and around New Zealand. An eclectic group as fascinating and unique as the woks themselves.
The woks will soon be at home in several leading bars in Auckland and Wellington, just as they were once at home on Singapore's streets. In celebration of the 'Woks of Art' arriving in New Zealand, and in a further effort to uncage Singapore's streets, Tiger will be hosting a series of exciting events showcasing the cuisine, music and culture from these same Southeast Asian origins. The events and the bars and restaurants that will be hosting, include:
- The Street Food Collective - Saturday, April 9, 2016
- Little Easy - April 20 - 21, 2016
- Dirty Little Secret - Wednesday, April 27, 2016 (WELLINGTON)
- Portland Public House - Friday, April 29, 2016
- White & Wongs - Sunday, May 1, 2016
Visit www.tigerbeer.co.nz or follow TigerBeerNZ on Facebook and Instagram to find out more details.
- Today
- This Week
- This Month
- This Year
- The Ten Best Restaurants in Auckland
- Twelve Incredible Australian Islands for When You Want to Get Off the Mainland
- The Best Places to Go Glamping in New Zealand
- The Most Romantic Places to Stay in Bali When Proposals and Honeymoons Come Calling
- Our Guide to the Best Glamping Sites Around Australia
- Ten Films and TV Shows You Need to Stream This Month