One is a face, the other a facade. Which is handsomer?

Face to face. Left, the humanoid fronting a Gentle Monster store in Singapore. Photo: Chin Boh Kay. Right, sculpture of a face at a Step8eight promotional event at Starhill mall, Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Dan Lim

At the Gentle Monster’s relocated store in ION Orchard, the open front of the retail space is once again dominated by a massive robotic installation. This time, it features the intriguingly expressive faces of two unknown individuals. In a similar vein, the photo wall of the concluded-yesterday pop-up event of Step8ight, the streetwear brand of Malaysian social media personality Chan Phei Yong (陈培永), was overshadowed by an enormous face, cast in plaster. Unlike Gentle Monster’s which is unidentified, this other grey countenance is thought to belong to the multi-hyphenate influencer himself. His ardent fans were seen photographed next to it, as if it was a visage of a political hero. Of the two, one is a brand that uses a face; the other is a face that became a brand.

Mr Chan was present to promote the somewhat chaotic event. At a meet and greet segment, a fan in the audience asked him, pointing to the sculpture: “是你吗 (shinima, is that you)?” He merely smiled (perhaps he didn’t hear the question), which everyone took to mean yes. The face was a likeness with scant details of its subject, except the double eyelids and the pronounced nose, which elicited a remark from a delighted pretty boy: “好大 (very big)”. In fact, it is sullen, which is odd for a likeness of a far more loquacious face. The stand holding it up was planted into a circular base on which rocks or concrete pieces were placed as if what rose above was ikebana. The whole sculpture spun at a span of about 180 degrees, which meant that no matter where the fans stood in front of it, they could see it clearly. It is uncertain if they were truly celebrating a man or the monument to his business.

The face was a sullen likeness with scant details of its subject, except the double eyelids and the pronounced nose, which elicited a remark from a delighted pretty boy: “好大 (very big)”

Rather than a George Segal (American pop artist) moment that would have have seen a life-size full-body cast, Mr Chan chose a face, which reminded us of pin art, those box frames with the centre filled with an array of pins, free to slide in or out independently so that when a face or hand is pressed against it, it creates a 3-D likeness of the object on the other side. It has an un-lifelike quality to it. Perhaps, Mr Chan has little to work with when it comes to his physical self. He is not tall (1.68m), even when he has once said on Facebook, “其实也没有很矮啦 (actually not really that short, lah)”. He is not muscular, a fact that arguably informs his preference—trend aside—for baggy clothes or thick outers to obscure his petite frame. The money maker lies above his shoulders. And last weekend, it was caked with make-up as photo-ops were at every corner. The plaster was better shaded that the man.

Gentle Monster’s humanoid faces are quite a technical achievement. There is no attempt to hide the fact that the faces belong to a pair of droids, yet the expressions are surprisingly life-like and strike beholders with a sense of wonder. The work, titled ‘Awaken’, is the output of the Gentle Monster Robotics Lab, which is an in-house team of more than 100 artists, designers, and engineers who work across various fields, including robotics, engineering, architecture, spatial design, and media art. Chan Phei Yong’s face-casting could be the work of this own CMaker Studio, a TV and video production company he co-founded with his sister that is believed to be behind Step8ight too. Rather than enhancing the Phei Yong experience, his face has become its sole function. But using it as the core of a personal brand business model could work against him in a digital world that moves at lightning speed. An influencer’s appeal is often tied to trends and a certain level of ‘newness’. The public can become jelak—the feeling of being overwhelmed or sick—of the same face and style. What then?