19/09/2024

LYFE THURSDAY | SEP 19, 2024

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Visitors wrote letters to their future self in the spirit of self-love.

A ‘fortune’ section of positive quotes to spread good vibes.

Feline characters bring stories to life

o Bichi Mao retells tales of daily life through chibi characters

P ETS or animal companions have always found a place in our hearts, home and frequently, art. From peculiar depictions in renaissance art to chibi illustrations, animals have always held a special place in the artistic world. Beloved characters such as Hello Kitty, Garfield, Snoopy, Brutus & Pixie have spawned from this shared love for animal characters. As such, Bichi Mao finds a unique platform in the plethora of pet comics as it illustrates heartwarming stories to over 704,000 followers on Instagram. Life imitates art Speaking to theSun , its founders Olive Young and Yap Wee Lim revealed Bichi Mao started in 2019 as a passion project and a shared love for felines. Beginning as simple comic strips on Instagram, Bichi Mao now enjoys love from the online community for its content, which geared the team towards growing the brand. “To continue growing Bichi Mao, Niko Studio was formed in early 2023 Ű BY VERONICA ELANKOVAN

and is currently a team of seven talents. We have developed a line of merchandise, participated in events and convention,” said the team, adding that the joy of Bichi Mao was further brought to the masses via its toy line. A webcomic on Instagram and Webtoon, Bichi Mao follows the daily musings of different cats. Lim said the story lines for the comic strips are inspired by the mundanity and existentialism of an average Joe (and Jane). Beyond just comic strips, Bichi Mao took storytelling a step further with its 3D animation videos. Going international A brainchild of Young, Bichi Mao saw a growing affection for its characters on social media, with a majority of its followers hailing from the US. The beloved cats also have a decent number of followers from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. To truly test the international waters, Bichi Mao’s team also went to the South Korea Illustration Fair in Seoul, which it described to be eye-opening but tiring. “Trying to handle the booth while

The Bichi Mao team, with its founders Yap (centre) and Young (third from right).

managing the team and schedule was challenging and exhausting but despite our busy schedule, we felt it was important to try out (exhibiting

in) different countries and see how we fare,” it said, adding that the best part about the exhibition was being able to connect with other talented artists

and designers.

Story is king The team believes Bichi Mao’s storytelling sets it apart from other creators of chibi characters. This was evident in the recent solo exhibition at GMBB in Kuala Lumpur. “The main theme of this exhibition is ‘Love Yourself’ (as) we offer our visitors an opportunity to explore within and practice self care,” said the team, expressing hope to make the world a kinder place through its webcomic. The traditional gallery experience had five stations for fans to immerse themselves in. With each station having its own story to tell, fans enjoyed interactive activities such as taking polaroid pictures, a “vending” machine experience and writing a letter to your future self that will be mailed back in a year to you. Looking into the future, the Bichi Mao team promises to take risks and tell new stories, keeping true to Young’s favourite motto: “Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star”.

Local writer is among judges for global literary prize THE 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, which is now open for submissions, will see Malaysian writer Saras Manickam serving as one of the judges alongside four other writers from the Commonwealth region. work experiences enabled insights into characters and life experiences, shaping the authenticity that mark her stories. shortlisted stories also published in the Foundation’s online literary magazine Adda. Though submissions are will

generally in English, submissions are also accepted in Bengali, Chinese, Creole, French, Greek, Malay, Maltese, Portuguese, Samoan, Swahili, Tamil and Turkish. Stories that have been translated into English from any language are also accepted and the translator of any story who wins (regional or overall) also receives prize money. The prize has a growing reputation for discovering and elevating new talent and offers a unique opportunity to unpublished writers alongside more established practitioners. Past winners have gone on to win other literary awards and secure book deals.

The 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, which is administered by the Commonwealth Foundation, is accepting entries until Nov 1. Now in its 13th year, the prize is awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000–5,000 words). Saras, together with the other judges, will select a shortlist of around 20 stories, from which five regional winners are chosen. The five regional winners receive £2,500 (RM14,252) and the overall winner receives £5,000. All five regional winning stories will be published in the literary magazine Granta and in a special print collection from Paper + Ink . The

Saras’s story My Mother Pattu won the regional prize for Asia in the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Contest. It was published by Penguin Random House (Southeast Asia) and this year, it was recognised by Pen Malaysia as one of the most significant books written by a Malaysian. The story has also been included in Bloomsbury’s The Art and Craft of Asian Stories and in The Best of Malaysian Short Fiction in English 2010-2020 . Saras worked at several jobs while writing her stories. Her various

Saras was Asia’s regional winner in 2019.