Malaysian Artist Breathes New Life Into Wayang Kulit With Marvel And DC-Inspired Puppets
He has even made wayang kulit puppets of real-life icons like PM Tun Dr. Mahathir and Ed Sheeran!
By Samantha Khor — 14 May 2019, 04:30 PM
From representing Malaysia for international talent shows to performing wayang kulit in Germany and Austria, Malaysian artist Tintoy Chuo has come a long way since Fusion Wayang Kulit was founded in 2012
Wayang kulit revival project Fusion Wayang Kulit, which Chuo co-founded with his friend Take Huat, has been injecting new life into the traditional art of wayang kulit by merging the craft's classic motifs with modern pop icons.
Chuo with an Iron Man wayang kulit puppet he made in conjunction with the release of 'Avengers: Endgame'.
Image via Fusion Wayang Kulit FacebookIn the past seven years, Chuo has created wayang kulit puppets depicting characters from the Star Wars saga, Marvel and DC superheroes, as well as a wayang kulit likeness for Ed Sheeran!
The revival may be slow-going, but Chuo tells SAYS they believe that the work they're doing is a meaningful one and has definitely paid off in the past few years.
Since getting featured on Wall Street Journal in 2014, Fusion Wayang Kulit has performed for international audiences in Germany and Austria as well as at a talent show in Guangdong, China last year, where they re-enacted a fight scene between Batman and The Joker.
2. Iron Man, complete with glowing arc reactor and nano repulsor cannon
The face plate can be moved too!
3. Thanos, complete with a glowing Infinity Gauntlet
The targetted glow is SO COOL:
6. Alita, which was gifted to Alita: Battle Angel director Robert Rodriguez and star Rosa Salazar
8. Han Solo, from Star Wars IV: A New Hope (left) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (right)
In Fusion Wayang Kulit's early days, Chuo made a number of wayang kulit puppets based on Star Wars characters such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Kylo Ren, and Chewbacca:
9. Aquaman
Chuo also made puppets based on several superheroes in the Justice League, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Green Lantern.
In his latest project, Chuo was commissioned to create five distinctive Batman models for the celebration of The Dark Knight's 80th anniversary:
11. Based on the Batman animated series, this puppet stands on a stylised gargoyle and holds a kerambit (traditional close-combat weapon) similar to his Batarang
15. Based on Azrael's Batman from the comics, who stood in for Bruce Wayne after he was defeated by Bane
See more of Fusion Wayang Kulit's work on their Facebook page here. The Batman collection is also currently on display at SkyAvenue, Resorts World Genting until 10 July.
