every little thing fairground, OTH Festival 2024
Commissioned by Our Tampines Hub
Commissioned by Our Tampines Hub
PROJECT SUMMARY
At the heart of this colourful fairground sat Eye-Dear, a towering 3-metre-tall gachapon machine that doubled as a whimsical oracle of the “Woods of Wisdom.” Designed in collaboration with Vertical Submarine as a playful entry point into a surreal world, visitors pressed a button to receive eye-themed fortunes drawn from a bank of ocular-inspired words of wisdom.
At the heart of this colourful fairground sat Eye-Dear, a towering 3-metre-tall gachapon machine that doubled as a whimsical oracle of the “Woods of Wisdom.” Designed in collaboration with Vertical Submarine as a playful entry point into a surreal world, visitors pressed a button to receive eye-themed fortunes drawn from a bank of ocular-inspired words of wisdom.
At the heart of the fairground is Donna — a young girl on a journey through Tampines Woods who, in a moment of misfortune, is transformed into a donut. Her surreal quest to return to her original form becomes the narrative thread of the installation, guiding visitors through a landscape of absurd creatures, eye-oracles, and forest-born wisdom. Every element in the fairground is part of Donna’s world: a strange, playful, and quietly philosophical place.
ROLE:
Art Direction | Concept Design | Creature Illustration | Pre-Production Drawings
ROLE:
Art Direction | Concept Design | Creature Illustration | Pre-Production Drawings
The Eye-Dear Gachapon Machine, now dormant, rests quietly - still bearing eyes, still waiting to be seen.
Imaginary beings
Surrounding the Eye-Dear Gachapon Machine was a cast of hand-painted creatures from this imagined ecosystem—each one strange, hopeful, and a little absurd. These cut-out standees, while modest in scale, formed a walking menagerie of ideas. They were visual metaphors, each tied to fragments of the narrative I helped shape for the fairground experience.
Though this was a collaborative project, my primary contributions lay in shaping the visual language of the creatures and the logic of the oracle machine. I saw this as an opportunity to explore how playful design can invite introspection, humour, and a sense of wonder—especially for children and families encountering art in public space.
