Post-scripting Urbanscapes

Marc, Vikas and I were in Kuala Lumpur as part of Market of Experiences (MOE) from 21 to 24 November to participate in Urbanscapes.

A novel way of engaging with its audience, MOE had us hawking our creative selves alongside flower showers, scent experimenters and movement manipulators. Each of us had visitors to our booths talking, laughing and sharing bits of themselves with us. In return, they took some of us with them.

On his Letter Street, Vikas, the maestro of lettering, typography and design, reminded visitors of the personal associations we all make between a thing and its owner. We remember personal articles that bear the owner’s initials, be it a purse, a handkerchief or a pen. What would people communicate through hand lettering applied on larger canvases? Happy Letter Street campers paraded their personalised bandanas and cloth belts through the Urbanscapes grounds telling everyone just how “Awesome” and “Fabulous” they were.

Stopping by on Letter Street

Our PostScripted concept is an unconventional take on postcard writing. Punters select a photo postcard – all original photographs taken by Marc – talk to us about it and we write prose or poetry, within 20 minutes, that articulates those thoughts.

Marc and I wrote close to 40 original pieces in the space of five and a half hours.

Call it extreme bespoke writing, if you will, These were deadlines quite unlike our every day demands!

The levels of engagement we had with our visitors seemed to numb the sheer exhausting nature of composing. Something happens when you sit across a table from a stranger and just let the thoughts roll. We noticed several pairs of teary eyes as people described what they saw in the photos and when they read what we’d written for them. Grateful smiles, validating nods and firm handshakes told us we’d paid attention.