Subo

Pranayama, Aristarchus (2018) Subo. In: 2018 CADI (Convergence Art & Design International), 20-11-2018 - 20-11-2018, Shaoxing - China.

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Abstract

Subo is a character and an art toy design based on the city emblem of Surabaya, East Java, the second largest city in Indonesia. The citys name consists of two entities of Sura and Baya, which in linguistic terms, sura or suro in Javanese language can mean brave and can also refer to a mythical shark-like fish, and baya or boyo means crocodile, while the similar-sounding Indonesian word bahaya means danger. With these meanings, Surabaya can mean brave in the face of danger (Peters, 2013). Thus also the two creatures of shark and crocodile are always symbolically shown to represent the city. As also told in the citys legend, that the two creatures are in never ending fights in between both of their territories, between the land, rivers, and the sea, in pursuit of preys. Subo reinterprets Suro & Boyo and combines them into one character, as a sharkodile art toy, hence the name Su-Bo. It tries to play into the creative activity of mixing and convergence to create new ideas and offer new concepts, where Suro and Boyo is almost always portrayed as two entities. As a new concept, Subo offers a more contemporary engagement towards the city. As an art toy or a designer toy, Subo finds a niche segment where such a hybrid character can be accepted and reach a wider audience outside Surabaya and even abroad. This in a way helps to introduce Surabaya to the world (see Subos Instagram @subosuroboyo). Subo was designed in May 2017 for an exhibition celebrating the 724th anniversary of Surabaya. It has gone into several limited productions, mostly as blanks or platform art toys. By being a platform toy, Subo asks the buyer to participate in expressing him/herself onto the toy by painting or modifying it. It becomes an interactive and engaging medium. Subo is given a logo design and has several form redesigns or versions with the same concept. This character design, as an intellectual property, has prospects of further development into merchandizing, story-telling, animation, games, public attractions, and so on. This project becomes an example of local character design that can offer a new way of rejuvenation or expansion to a citys brand and has the potential to be aligned with its marketing and tourism globally.

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