As part of Tiger Beer’s “Tiger Translate” global initiative, artist Matt Stewart from Australia and Quiccs and Bjornik from the Philippines were recently invited to tour the streets of Mongolia’s capital, Ulan Bator, and partner with local talents to create new forms of artistic expression.

Now in its 6th year, the programme is a platform to uncover Asia’s brightest young artists and musicians and give them opportunities to collaborate with established international counterparts.

The teams heading into Narantuul market

Stewart and Quiccs were both winners of their own local Tiger Translate competitions, while architecturally trained Bjornik had been chosen as Fan Favourite on Facebook for his detailed illustration of Manila’s streets.

Sourcing for materials at the market

While Mongolia is traditionally known for its fine arts, the festival highlighted the fact that there is a burgeoning contemporary arts scene emerging in the country.

Bjornik working on his Double Vision mural

Left to right – Mongolian artist Anunaran and Quiccs

On Day One, the visiting artists explored the city individually with a camera to capture an image that best represented the spirit of the Ulan Bator streets.

Quiccs’ teammates, Batbayar and Anunaran

Then on Day Two, along with local artists and their guides, they visited the bustling Narantuul black market to source for materials to be used to create a post-event artwork.

Day Three was the competition proper with teams commencing on their Double Vision collaborations. Using UV paint and markers, each team drew over the photo they had taken on Day One (blown up to 2 x 3m canvas) to translate their vision of Mongolia as a modern metropolis.

Live neon battle at Vegas Nightclub

Bjornik hard at work

Quiccs working on his Double Vision photo wall

The competition culminated on Day Four with a showdown at Vegas Nightclub. The three teams battled it out on the Double Vision photo wall while local musicians like Tigerfish, DJ Ulzii and DJ Zoloo entertained the crowd.

Guests get in on the action

The party ended with a rousing set from mysteriously masked Australian DJ duo Slice N Dice and Mongolia’s first female DJ – DJ Anna

We caught up with Bjornik following the festival.

Can you describe the experience?

It was a liberating experience. For the past three years, I’ve been working alone in my studio with just the Internet as my window to the outside world. The trip made me realise that nothing beats the fun and excitement of collaborating with other artists face to face. I had the privilege of working with two Mongolian artists whom I had not met before the event, and that made me a bit apprehensive about the language barrier. But I guess art transcends everything as we were able to communicate and convey our ideas very well to each other. The only drawback was that my teammates and I were very meticulous and a bit ambitious to work on a nice concept in a very short time. During the final hour we just let loose and had fun.

What impressed you most about the country and its arts scene?

They have a very rich cultural identity and a wonderful countryside, and I just hope that they can manage to pursue sustainable development without compromising their heritage and environment. The people I met there were very friendly and proud of their rich history. As for the art scene, what I previously knew of Mongolia is that they leaned more towards the fine arts. So it was refreshing to know that graffiti and digital art are along coming along well.

Has the visit inspired you with new ideas for new projects?

Definitely! I think I gained a better understanding of some ideas and Mongolian motifs that I’ll be adding to my repertoire.

Photos by Dylan Maddux

Top image: Live neon art battle

For more on Tiger Translate, visit tigertranslate.com