Illustrators transplant TV horror shows to Singapore

With Halloween around the corner, Disney+ Singapore worked with local artists Adeline Tan, Chris Chai, and Ng Yin Shian to create digital illustrations that put a Singapore spin on some of the streaming platform's horror shows. The resulting artwork is being featured as part of the 'Horror Star' campaign across all Disney+ Singapore social-media platforms.

Adeline Tan, The Walking Dead

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Tan conceptualised an apocalyptic scene set in Singapore. Where in the series a small-town sheriff wakes up from a coma to find the world infested by zombie-like “walkers”, Tan incorporated undead versions of native Singapore species of scavengers and hunters, including mynas, otters, and community cats.

Being given free rein to share my authentic interpretation of this well-loved TV series, the collaboration with Disney+ gave me the opportunity to envision these iconic scenes in Singapore. My work is inspired by the rich wildlife that many of us are familiar with, but putting a twist on it by creating undead versions of these local scavengers. Zombies and monsters are something that I rarely get to explore, and I had a lot of fun with it for the Horror Star campaign!

Chris Chai, What We Do In The Shadows

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While the comedy horror series follows four vampires who have been roommates for hundreds of years in New York City, Chai featured “Jiangshi”, also known as Chinese hopping vampires, lingering around vintage Peranakan-styled houses.

I’m a massive fan of What We Do In The Shadows, and hence it was a no-brainer for me to collaborate with Disney+ for the Horror Star campaign. Throughout my creative process, I had both seasons on Disney+ streaming in the background which helped me get a better feel of the mood for the illustration. In my artwork, I tried to merge the idea of local vampire mythology with the character essence of the vampires in What We Do In The Shadows, taking huge inspiration from the show's play on vampire folklore as well as its beautifully ridiculous tone.

Ng Yin Shian, American Horror Stories

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Rather the haunted house tropes in the series, Shian's piece shows the 'Pontianak', a vengeful vampire-ghost from Malay folklore, haunting an old-style Malay attap house, which is fllled with traditional items common in many Southeast Asian households, including the vintage rotary dial telephone, gramophone players, and intricate porcelain plates.

Working on my artwork for American Horror Stories was thrilling because I’m a massive fan of horror, and I jumped right on the opportunity! Research played a huge role in my creative process, and I selected the 'Pontianak' to be the central motif throughout my artwork to put an unmistakable local twist on it. With the Pontianak being a well-known part of Malay folklore, I felt that it was important to feature a traditional Malay house, and I took a deep dive into finding archival photographs of these houses. I had a lot of fun featuring a unique part of the Southeast Asian culture, and am really excited to share it with the rest of the world!

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