The strategy of the post-modern Memphis studio was to challenge and subvert Modernist conventions of good taste, with a visual language dominated by flamboyant pattern, bold colour, graphic sculptural form and, frequently, humour. It is not only the aesthetics of the movement that has drawn Bas to revisit this energetic period, but also the idea of the artificial versus the real, the notion of the false being more authentic than the actuality (concepts which Bas links to another early influence, Joris-Karl Huysmans' Against Nature). Memphis style prioritises form over function and, for Bas, the Group's work comes as close to sculpture as any design movement in recent times.

The paintings and works on paper in Memphis Living borrow from this sculptural aesthetic. The artist has said of this new series that, as with a previous body of work in which he articulated a fascination with Futurism, he is "exploring new ways of interpreting a definitive and somewhat overlooked period in cultural history, developing works centred around the kinds of characters who populate my practice, imagining who is the boy/man who would make this sort of space his own, what his home might look like... and what sort of psychosis would lead to this?" Bas expands this idea further, saying "In my opinion, living 'Memphis' means more than a love of bright colours, pattern and uncomfortable seating. It was an impassioned moment, a daring, bold-formed and wildly influential movement that is just catching our rear-view attention again".