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Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open
Journal article
Merlionicity Part II: Familiarity Breeds Affection
Journal of marine and island cultures, Vol.6(2)
29/12/2017
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Abstract
The merlion is a figure that comprises the upper half of a lion and the lower half of a fish. In an earlier issue of this journal (1[2], 2012), I charted the merlion's invention and introduction as a logo for Singaporean tourism in the 1960s and its memorialisation as a fountain statue in 1972. After examining a variety of cultural engagements with it during the 1970s-1990s, I concluded by analysing interpretations offered by artists contributing to the 2006 and 2011 Singaporean Biennales. In this follow-up article I explore the extent to which Singaporeans, expatriates and visitors have developed an increasing degree of affection for the figure. As subsequent sections detail, various recent deployments indicate that for some tourists, expatriates and Singaporean nationals, at least, the merlion is now regarded as a symbol that can be used in playful, ironic and/or often personalised manners, such as, most notably, a logo that they are willing to have inscribed on their flesh.
Details
- Title
- Merlionicity Part II: Familiarity Breeds Affection
- Creators
- Philip Hayward
- Publication Details
- Journal of marine and island cultures, Vol.6(2)
- Publisher
- Institution for Marine and Island Cultures, Mokpo National University
- Identifiers
- 991012926964102368
- Copyright
- The journal is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License.
- Academic Unit
- Emeritus Faculty
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article