Manchester-based designer, DJ, and creative, AK Williams — aka AK Gramm — has just presented a collection of new artworks, reinterpreting classic cars to merge his two worlds: the past as the future.
AK, the founder of Manneh-based label Gramm, has been a key figure in the evolution of Manchester’s creative scene. His brand, founded in 2015 — and also listed as one of Hypebeast’s UK brands to watch — is currently enduring a slow hiatus, while AK and the wider team create new technically-focused styles to stock in the brand’s flagship store that’s due to open next year.
Now, as AK works on his forthcoming collections with his imprint — while also consistently performing at his hot-on-the-block Habitat club nights and football work with the FA — the creative polymath has created a new world, one that reinterprets all of the things he grew up around and appreciated, but through his own futuristic vision.
Titled “A Wah Di Bumper,” AK’s new project reimagines BMW cars such as the 5 Series E34 and 3 Series E30, along with a Volkswagen Jetta, Mercedes-Benz G-Class, and Austin Metro. AK’s new car designs cover them in seas of green, adding clouds of smoke along with inflatable detailing across motors that sit in front of local houses on the estate and swimming pools. “I used all of my favorite types of cars and imagined them in a way that I’ve always wanted to see them,” AK said.
And while the suburban locations each car has been placed in seem close to home, AK insists on his creation inserting an otherworldly sense of wonder. “I just create to see things that I’ve never seen.
“It’s more articulating my thoughts in a medium that everyone else can see. It’s a mixture of past and present as it’s key to always look forward, but it’s our past that also helps create your vision of the future, whether that’s good or bad,” AK told Hypebeast.
You can take a closer look at “A Wah Di Bumper” above and in other news, check out Yellowpop’s new LED neon art.
