Slices of Malaysiana via Pantun Pins

By JUICE Malaysia  •  in News
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Remember a time when pins, badges, and patches were all the rage? It was about the same time music acts like Nirvana and NSYNC, and the phrase “all the rage” were popular. For most of us, the detachable accessory fad eventually met its demise after high school ended, which left a few dissatisfied human beings. One group in particular were motivated to do more than just wallow in the sadness of what their teenhood used to be; thus the birth of Pantun.

Pantun is a collaborative project among friends who were determined to create pins that represented their hometown, and ultimately rebirthing the pin culture in Malaysia. Its first collection sees homages to imageries that epitomise our country – some lightly tongue-in-cheek, some outright derisive. Think symbols such as the 20 Ringgit note, Malaysia’s national flower – the hibiscus, a packet of nasi lemak, Tenaga Nasional’s electricity box, a Malaysian passport, and our favourite, a crying Jibby. It truly depicts the best quality of Malaysia’s Dear Leader.

On top of that, Pantun has collaborated with graffiti artist Cloakwork to produce a series of pins that illustrates his signature traits like spray cans and his back — graffiti artists and their need to be anonymous. There are plans to continue working with both local and international artists to design more series of pins similar to this.

Beyond its local-centric symbology, there are also a couple of pins that reference Kanye and Drake — no matter where we are, we can trust in these two internet memes-cum-rappers to make an appearance everywhere we go. Also, each design is produced in limited quantity and will not be reproduced until it’s sold out. So, grab ’em before they’re gone.

Browse through the photos below:

Pantun Pins retail at RM25 per pin, shop its products here.