mini-challenge: solutions by Alessandro Pocaterra

Previously, we had posted some design proposals which had proved elusive to us for years (!); we never expected a solution for them, and definitely not quite so soon. Guess what, Alessandro Pocaterra from Italy proved us wrong. We were amazed, really, with his designs (NastyBasty's solution too, which we had highlighted in one of our recent posts), of how simple thin lines, fuss-free managed to be so effective. Here they are:

'Stephen.King's-Dark.Tower' - 'Eddie.Oy.Jake-Susannah.Roland' by Alessandro Pocaterra
'Jack.the.Ripper'-'Serial.Killer' by Alessandro Pocaterra
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Recently, while sorting through our piles of papers (we are teachers, not hoarders, mind), we came across some old drafts of unfinished designs chucked away. So here goes, another list of elusive designs:

1. ambigram of armageddon-apocalypse

2. reflection of liverpool-red.devil
3. ambigram of black(&)white-myth(&)legend

4. reflection of Jack.Daniel

5. ambigram of Douglas.Hofstadter-Godel,Escher,Bach

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If you're up for the challenge, do email us at: nagfa_ambigram@hotmail.com

Your work will certainly be compiled and shared with our visitors. Thank you in advance!

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salam (peace),

nagfa

ambigram: ed.xander

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For Ed Xander, a long-time Ambigram Mate from Flickr Ambigram Group. Colours used here reflect his avatar, that cleverly-designed YinYang symbol using 'e' and 'd' (with rotational symmetry, too, mind you.)

May peace be upon you.
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Some quick updates:
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1. On the NastyBasty NAC (Theme: Mirror Mirror On The Wall)
We - nagfa - had compiled all the entries submitted and had also emailed them to NastyBasty for his comments and picking of the eventual winner. After which, we will then upload his comments together with the entries on this blog. Do give us about two to three weeks to get these done.
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2. Still on NastyBasty, do check out his Flickr page (here) for some of the most thrilling sequences in progressive thinking in conjuring up a near-impossible Jack.the.Ripper-Serial.Killer ambigram, which we came up ourselves and still couldn't solve it for the longest time. His final piece is a testament and culmination of determination, creativity, persistence and just plain brute effort to finish what he had started. Awe and respects!
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3. On the subject of quality designs, do check out 10 (!!!) new designs updated in John Langdon's ambigram gallery (here)
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4. And touching on an ambigram-churning machine, how about Ed Xander (here), who seems to be on a roll these past weeks, coming up with many many new concepts, and original presentations for visual word plays. His numerous takes on similar words are also pleasantly diversed. Superb!

reflection: jack.the.ripper-1.serial.killer

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Avoiding rotational ambigram altogether, we opted for reflection instead to solve this constant mind-itch. Personally love the outcome, especially the Es and the consistent R-K. A little cheat/trick here is the conversion of the 'J' into '1'. Style-wise (though some may beg to differ) very much influenced by NastyBasty's fine works. PowerPoint assisted(!).

ambigram: jack.the.ripper-grim.reaper

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Another piece based on Jack the Ripper. PowerPoint assisted.

ambigram: temasek.secondary(school)

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Part of the design for a fellow teacher teaching in Temasek Secondary School. To be printed on T-shirts used in their upcoming Students Exchange Programme in Bali, Indonesia.

ambigram: lee.kuan.yew-mas.selamat

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Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew: The most respected icon in modern Singapore's history juxtaposed with Mas Selamat: Singapore's most desirable man (read: escaped terrorist, still elusive).

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A blow by blow account of how that happened was made public today. (But you can read that in other blog postings..)

ambigram: freddy.krueger-jack.the.ripper

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Phew.. One of our favourite designs to date. After trying many, many times for a 'Jack the Ripper - Serial Killer' ambigram (with most times being unsatisfactory; a lake reflection proves just elusive too, though Killer reflects to Ripper almost too easily, but that's another story..), we realised that another phrase/name could be made use. 'Freddy Krueger' seemed a natural choice due to the perfectly placed 'dd' to rotate from 'pp'. Thus, this ambigram piece of two legendary slayers: The Fiction and the Folklore.

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Hereby, we'd like to extend our awe and respect to NastyBasty who had attempted 4(!!!) times to solve the elusive 'Jack the Ripper-Serial Killer' ambigram.

Some Kufic projects done in between marking sessions:

square kufic: 'Allah' in Arabic

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Based on a previous design. After starting out with very amateurish and simplistic-looking Square Kufic pieces, we delved into more complex designs, encouraged and spurred by khat calligraphy master, awangpurba of Malaysia.

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The next design is a Romanized Square Kufic, reading Fadilah-Naguib. To be hung on our yellow wall.

Romanized Kufic: Fadilah-Naguib
Romanized Kufic: Fadilah-Naguib

ambigram: Imran.T-india

reflection: western

Romanized kufic: dinda-duyung
Romanized kufic: dinda-duyung
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A square kufic version of one of Nag's earliest designs (below) - Dinda Duyung (Darling Mermaid) - Nag's nickname for then-girlfriend Fa, now wife.

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My love for her

Endures forever

ambigram: Dinda(heart-shape)-Duyung

reflection: clockwork-orange

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Had always wanted to design this. We tried to be as true to the original design (below) as we could. The constant inspiration for this is Cascarrabias' The Godfather reflection and Homero's Shrek ambigram. One of the better books we've read.

ambigram & reflection: edge

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Style-wise, a nod to goenetix's stark simplified geometries.

ambigram: from 'rotation' to 'static' (goenetix-inspired)

romanized kufic: serpiente

romanized kufic: fraga

Firstly, a nod to Juan Luis' (El espejo ludico) sharp eyes for posting a magnificent piece of advertisement:

The letter 'O' in 'KOMBI' looks ambiguous:

Is it an image of a foetus - all young and fresh and pure? Or an Afro-haired, fat-chinned, droopy-Stallone-styled-sneered guy in the shadows?