false friends: the sun age by Coarse (Aug 6 pre-order)
PRODUCT-PRESS: This final generation of the false friends era is limited to 88 pieces and is exclusively available at San Diego Comic Convention [blogged] and soon at coarse hkg. Includes noop, muffled in his cuddly soft fur suit and his false friend paw! The two 13’’ vinyl figures are embedded safely in soft sponge, packed in a glossy wooden screen-printed box, with a giant paw! nose knob, all enclosed with an elastic strap. Each set contains one family and friends application code card.
Priced at HK$ 3990 (price includes global airmail shipping) and only available at coarse hkg on Friday, August 6, 4:00 pm Hong Kong Time, with a mid/late September ship-out. CLICK THRU for more snaps, along with a pretty long backstory titled; "the last sunset over the elastomer as they know it".
the last sunset over the elastomer as they know it
The noop rests snugly on his mattress, the constant heaving of the waves elevates him in his subconscious state. He is roused by a deep-rooted rumbling sensation, but quickly slips back into his cozy dreams. His tiny shack begins to shudder and his delicate bed frame creaks. With eyes wide open, he feels a powerful shift below. A loud crack is followed by the slow lick of molten matter passing under. He runs outside, and what he sees makes no sense to the naïve noop. The ground is convulsing, sending massive ripples across the land. The thin surface starts to rise up into large trembling mounds, bursting and erupting erratically. Vast gouges tear open the outer shell, revealing pools of greasy dark fluid. As the ominous juice starts to draw near, the noop follows his most natural instinct and starts to run as fast as he can. He has to escape the sinking ruins before they swallow him up.
He runs for a night and a day with no sense of direction. He passes through a dense forest that slumps deep into a teeming valley. Giant leaves try to entangle him as he rushes by. The foliage thins out and eventually he is in a smooth desert land, surrounded by a rhythm of powdery peaks. From the top of a dune, he sees a blemish on the horizon. The immense mass sends a thick coil of smoke high into the atmosphere. Unstoppable like a bad dream, as it ceaselessly poisons the spotless sky.
Over one hilltop he discovers a tranquil flatland. As night falls, he rests under a lonesome tree. For the first time in days, he feels safe from the path of devastation. At first light, the noop’s slumber is interrupted once again by a rumbling in the ground. In a millisecond he is at his feet. A single mound of churning earth is headed straight for him, toppling all the land it its course. He is stuck in his tracks, and before he has time to think, it stops right before him. As the dust cloud begins to disperse, the noop is face to face with locks, a curly catastrophe coated in sticky black slick. The unfamiliar two glare at each other as the sun begins to beat down on them, each trying to predict the outcome of this strange encounter. Before either one can display a hint of fear, they are interrupted by a bellowing from the dunes. paw! launches high above them, blotting out the burning sun. The two crouch, to avoid being crushed by the ferocious monkey-rabbit. It lands on all fours, spread widely over the dry desert pan, and slowly lifts its head to face its onlookers, spluttering under each growling breath. The unfamiliar three, bewildered by the events that swept away everything that they know, are lost in this instant.
The noop’s surreal daydreams are interrupted when the chunky locks plunges back underground, smashing open the sandy crust. The tunnel he digs leaves a perfectly linear fold behind him. Before long, he pauses, and perks up his head, looking back to the dumbfounded duo and motions them to follow. Without a moment’s doubt, they are chasing a cascade of sand, speeding through the desert. Although blinded by the sun and a barrage of dust from ahead, they are filled with a newfound strength. As locks races down the massive dune escarpment, paw! and the noop get a full view of a landscape unlike anything they have ever seen; a yawning cavern filled with gurgling black juice and scattered with rocky outcrops. The ocean gushes down one ledge, all the water disappearing under the rising blackness.
[Above-images first blogged HERE]
paw! and the noop clamber down to the oozing delta, unsure what awaits them. They approach a cluster of outlying rockpools that contract and expand like breathing organisms. locks takes the lead, shuffling over the gummy terrain, casually rolling through the shallow puddles as the others edge around every drip and bubble. They near the tidal inlet where the ocean waterfalls into the bottomless blackness. This is the moment when they spot nism. the shellbound pup, stranded on a tiny island. It peeks at them from under its husk. The noop gravitates towards the helpless soul, but cannot bring himself to enter the substance that recently brought his world to a collapse. Seeing the noop’s hesitation, locks takes a few sure strides into the heart of the semifluid, stopping right in front of nism. He turns to face them all as he leisurely begins descend. Unaffected, he beckons the others to come together. And with that, the noop and paw! give in to their innermost fears and enter the elastic nectar. A black essence seeps up their bodies, followed by their steady submergence. The four look at each other powerlessly, as they disappear under the surface of the elastomer. As they exit this reality, they pass through to a new perception. Their world is reduced to a tiny molecule at the mercy of a higher force. For the first time the meaning of their lives becomes clear. With the elastomer already beginning to implode, they must fight their destiny to free themselves forever.
