@Cultkids’s Nostalgic Retro Pop-Art Reminiscence The Golden Malaysian Days

Cultkids first started in 2013 just as an experimental project for Syazri to explore his interest in drawing and illustrations that he would like to share with other design community on Instagram. The name Cultkids was actually taken from the 70’s kids show known as Cultkids tv. Syazri figured the name is cool and it suits his design and illustration style.

  As a one man show, explain how you run your business on your own.

“CultKids is a 100% one man show which all the ideas and artwork were produced all by myself except for some production and marketing that I got help and assistance from some close friends. Working solo provides me with more freedom in shaping the direction of Cultkids especially for the elements related to my artwork.”

What is Cultkids working on these days? 

“Currently I’m in the process of releasing some new merchandise for Cultkids, which I plan to make it more consistent and also able to market them online through a proper e-commerce system. There will be more new stuff, expect t-shirts, other merchandise such as posters, canvas prints, postcards, books, bags, stickers etc. I’m trying to add more local flavours in my design, for my latest project I am producing some stuffs as a tribute to our legend Seniman Agung Tan Sri P.Ramlee and also some other artists from the golden eras of Malay film and music. There’s a lot of commission work and collaborations work as well like the latest one I did with Rachun Motorclub to support their annual event. There will be an upcoming new collaboration next year which I can’t reveal yet.”

Your art represents the golden traditional days. What attracted you to the such a specific theme and end up sticking with it?

“I really like to explore the retro style of illustrations and designs which I found them amazing. The genuinely, authentic and sometimes imperfect result of the designs give me a kind of pure satisfaction. Through my small collections of old magazines, books and print ads I will always try to understand the design method and process before I transfer it into Cultkids style. “ 

Your art has a nostalgic vintage feel with a lot of retro pop art and colours. How would you describe your art theme?

“The major themes that I always play in most of my work are anything that can bring a nostalgic feeling to the audience. I believe by using a popular subject to portray certain issues or stories will make my artwork more meaningful. I just can’t deny that pop artist like Andy Warhol, Shepard Fairey of Obey and Basquiat really influenced me in many aspects.”

Recently, you started making neon art. Are you trying to expand new designs or was it a brand commission work? 

“Inspiration for making neon art was developed when recently I went to Hong Kong for holidays. The neon and street lights ads in the city were really massive. You can find them everywhere promoting a variety of products and services. They are mostly old and authentic yet still create a lively form of communication.”

How does your creative process starts?

“Basically it is just the same like other artists or designers, I will start with rough sketches and transfer or scan it to a digital input. Then I will refine, trace, add colours and make final artwork using a Photoshop/ Illustrator. Besides that , I love to draw and make screen printing on paper and canvas as well. Hopefully next year I look forward to produce more physical artwork on paper and canvas.’

How important is it for you to play around with typography and incorporate it to your art? Is it considered the main element in your piece?

“Yes, typography really plays an important role in my artwork. I love to play around with text and customise it according to the concept of the design. Recently I tried to experiment with Jawi and Mandarin characters as well which I believe has more reach and impact to the audience.”

What do you want cultkids to be known for?

“Cultkids is a platform to welcome the community to appreciate the aesthetic value of art in any form and at the same time to enliven the art scene in Malaysia. It is not just solely for fun and entertainment yet it aims to educate people to be more sensitive and concerned about the things and issues which is happening around them.”

Who are other Malaysian artist do you look up to?

“Fritilldea, Kide Baharuddin and Kupeh Rodriguez. For fine art artist, I like to refer to our late Datuk Ibrahim Hussein.”  

Follow the cult here.