Man on a mission: Artist Alam Taslim showcases his works at the “ArchIGORpelago” art exhibition, in which his character creation Igor is a tribute to the diversity of Indonesian culture.

Artist Alam Taslim has created a lovable monster from an unlikely inspiration: a bowl of instant noodles.

Meet Igor, a one-eyed, curious-looking monster mostly seen on T-shirts in various permutations. It is not big in size, and for a monster, it does not look particularly menacing.

In a glance, its form is a bit abstract, but if we look closely, we begin to make out what it is made of.

Its seemingly hairy body turn out to be strands of noodles, its only eye is a poached egg, its fangs are vegetable garnishes, and it is wearing a noodle bowl as a hat. Its name, Igor, is a tribute to its namesake: fried instant noodles, a popular comfort food among Indonesians.

Alam Taslim, the Bali-based artist who invented Igor, found inspiration for the character in 2015, when he was doodling while enjoying a bowl of instant noodle.

The dish has been a popular comfort food among Indonesians. It is even considered a staple food for students or struggling workers living on a tight budget. It is cheap, easy to make and tasty.

However, if consumed excessively, it can be hazardous for your health, given the amount of artificial ingredients in it. This is an irony that Alam finds interesting.

“Igor is a monster. It is scary, in a way, but it also brings joy to people. Much like instant noodles,” he explained, adding that “it’s ‘deadlicious’!”

Alam uploaded his doodle to his Instagram account. To his surprise, many friends wanted to order T-shirts with that design.

Alam fine-tuned his very first Igor design for T-shirts, which he called Igor Signature, and sold it online. In just one month, he received an overwhelming number of orders.

Shortly after bringing Igor to life, Alam resigned from his 10-year career in advertising in Jakarta, and moved to Bali, where he found more freedom to further explore what he calls “the Igor universe”.

T-shirts are still the main platform for Igor designs. Following Igor Signature, Alam developed several permutations, drawing from many sources of inspiration: film characters, Halloween themes and travel themes.

Even more themes are explored through collaboration projects, in which Alam collaborates with fellow artists, including The Punten, Cecilia Hidayat and Galih Sakti, resulting in an eclectic array of themes and styles.

“It is very rewarding to see so many different styles coming together,” said Alam, who named graffiti artist Darbotz, filmmaker Ifa Isfansyah and photographer Anton Ismael as his dream collaboration team.

Alam went on to cut through different media for his Igor designs, including bags, handmade pins, aprons and scarfs.

He also developed the Igor Deconstructed Series, in which Igor ingredients are sold separately in the form of patches and handmade jewelry, collaborating with Etalase, a Bali-based crafter, and Oh! Patches, a Bali-based brand.

“It’s hard for me to inhibit [my] ideas and imagination. This little monster is so fluid, adjustable and versatile, giving me a tremendous space for exploration. It’s a limitless universe,” mused Alam.

Like its inspiration — instant noodles that many Indonesians are crazy about — Igor is being sought after by many.

Sold mainly online through its Instagram account @igorsatumangkok, as well as some stores in Bali, Alam said his customers came from as far as the United States, the Netherlands and Spain — with some carrying fascinating stories with them.

“A customer ordered an Igor T-shirt for her friend, who has cancer and got curious when she saw people wearing ‘this noodle monster T-shirt’ during her treatment in Singapore and Sydney,” Alam recounted, and added that with a smile, “I hope Igor made her happy.”

After just over a year after its conception, Alam has the chance to showcase Igor in a solo exhibition, entitled “ArchIGORpelago”, held at Galeri Indonesia Kaya in Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, Jakarta, from Dec. 1 to 13.

The exhibition is a tribute to the diversity of Indonesian culture, and Alam is very happy that Igor can be a vessel for that idea.

This time, Igor comes in the form of artwork interpretations inspired by the cultural elements from six Indonesian regions: Batik Parang Rusak motif from Yogyakarta, the Dvarapala statue from Bali, Asmat war armor from Papua, the Hudoq mask from Dayak culture, a tattoo pattern from Mentawai and the Bissu dance from Bugis, South Sulawesi.

The platforms chosen by Alam are a combination of how he has developed Igor in the past year, which involves chiffon fabric, printing, markers, Chinese ink and stitching.

“I have to work with manual coloring and finishing, and also embroidery. People said this combination would result in imperfect textures.

“But this intrigues me even more, because it embodies Igor’s characteristics. Igor is imperfect and a misfit, just like me,” explained Alam, who studied Product Design at Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology in the East Java capital, Surabaya, and is a fan of Japanese illustrator Gengoroh Tagame and Balinese painter I Nyoman Masriadi.

Alam is thrilled to be able to evolve Igor to another level, in a showcase that honors Indonesia.

“This project made me fall in love with Indonesia all over again. The deeper we dig, we will discover more beautiful things about Indonesia that we haven’t seen before,” he said. “I find Igor and Indonesia have something in common. They are both ‘deadlicious’!”

In less than two years, Igor the lovable monster has gone through a remarkable journey. It has provided artistic liberation for his creator and brought joy for his audience.

Indeed, inspired by everybody’s favorite comfort food, Igor is well on its way to becoming everybody’s favorite monster.

— Photo by Rizal Iwan

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