CATALYSTS FOR CHANGE
To be true to one’s art sometimes means exploring with new forms and giving it a higher expression through collaborations, jewellery designer MICHAEL KOH and poet POOJA NANSI tell Mavis Teo
Two local artists talk to us about giving their craft a higher expression
BEYOND THE ORDINARY
Michael Koh was 17 when he won the Diamond of Distinction Award from De Beers International in 1988, followed by the Singapore Trade Development Board’s Young Designers Award in 1990, making him the youngest in both awards’ history. In 2004, he set up Caratell with his wife, Achillea Teng. Caratell was among the first to use uncommon, coloured stones in their designs for which Michael had ventured into inaccessible areas to obtain at source. In 2016, Michael added watch designer to his portfolio with Tefnut Sleeping Beauty for German watch manufacture Moritz Grossmann, and hasn’t looked back since.
Caratell’s 15th anniversary last year was a major milestone. Your second watch, the Tefnut Arabian Nights, also made it into the Fondation du Grand Prix d’horlogerie de Genève pre-selection list in the same year. What was the major highlight for you in such an eventful year?
There was more than one. First of all, I realised my dream of showing works from the past 15 years together with my latest pieces in our anniversary event last August. I can’t tell you how much pleasure it gives an artist to be able to show one’s creations from the past and present. To commemorate our anniversary, we also launched the second edition of our coffee-table book Objects of Desire, which will be distributed worldwide. During the event, Christine Hutter, founder of Moritz Grossmann, broke the pre-selection news to us. We were overjoyed.
Your journey, especially about how you overcame dyslexia, to be a successful jewellery designer has been widely reported. How would you describe your evolution as a designer?
I feel that the career chose me, rather than I chose it. Everything just fell into place. I let the following principles guide me in all I do: follow my heart and passion, to be honest in all my creations and cherish every moment in life while helping others along the way.
Is designing watches a natural progression for you?
I’ve always been interested in other forms of design. Watches is one of them. I would say I’m a painter and a sculptor as well as being a jewellery designer. I am also interested in science, mechanics and movement. Leonardo da Vinci, one of my biggest influences, was a scientist as well. Because I have always been a hands-on person, I progressed to wanting to apply these principles into my creations.
By a stroke of luck, we met Christine Hutter and Theo Staub at the 2016 Singapore Yacht Show. We found that we were like-minded in some ways. I was so inspired that by the next morning, I had come up with an asymmetric design and named it Sleeping Beauty in reference to the nocturnal hour of its completion.
What gave you the inspiration for the Milanaise dial in the Arabian Nights? How was the process of bringing it to life?
We were visiting the sand dunes in Dubai after showing at an exhibition. Mesmerised by their vast beauty, I thought to myself that the scene would be something worth bringing to life in my creations. Soon after, Theo and Christine asked me if I could design a ladies’ watch for the Middle Eastern market.
Arabian Nights was inspired by the legend of Scheherazade who charmed her king with her stories. I am practical when it comes to ergonomics. While I wanted the lapidary of the gemstone and the colour combination to be exactly as I desired, I also had to make sure that the mother-of-pearl and lapis lazuli used in the dial face do not exceed 1mm in thickness. With very precise cutting, every piece fit into place. We experimented for six months before I was satisfied with the results.
Achillea and you were one of the first jewellers to explore with uncommon, coloured gemstones. Do you always have to do something different from others?
I see jewellery design as an artistic expression. To me, playing with coloured stones is similar to painting on a canvas for an artist. The same principles of colour combination apply to both. But unlike painting where you could get the desired colours by mixing paints, gemstones are trickier. You will notice my colour combination is not done by gradation but by contrasting or matching colours to create a “pop” or harmonious effect. Another method I use is to place a stone under another stone for what I call the “illusion of colour” effect.
You draw a lot of analogies about being an artist.
I see myself as one. When designing, I am driven by emotions, not by the mindset of having to produce a collection. This is why you will see one-of-a-kind pieces from me. I want my creations to strike a chord with people like they do for me. I hope to share them with people who could resonate with them.
INSPIRING YOUTHS
Since she discovered Sylvia Plath at 13, and later slam and spoken word poetry, Pooja Nansi has expressed her love for poetry in different forms, such as music and promoting poetry education among schoolchildren. She is also one half of Mango Dollies, a music spoken word duo. In 2016, Pooja received the Young Artist Award from the National Arts Council and was also named Singapore’s first Youth Poet Ambassador. In late 2018, another feather was added to her cap: Director of the Singapore Writers Festival from 2019.
Congratulations on the successful conclusion of the Singapore Writers Festival 2019. We heard that Youth Fringe, a new segment that you introduced to the festival, had a good turnout. What was your motivation for that?
I wanted to give young people a chance to be heard. I think it’s good to encourage them to express themselves and to give them a platform to do so.
Why do you feel poetry is a good outlet for the youth to express themselves?
Poetry is a space that allows for complicated emotions to “unpack” themselves. It allows questions that don’t always have quick answers. Poetry doesn’t require you to come up with answers. I think young people need a space like that to express, explore and discover. Perhaps I am drawing on my experiences while growing up. I was and am still someone who tends to feel things harder, so poetry has always been a good mirror for me to look at myself with. It is also a safe space to explore these feelings and thoughts. I want to give this space to young people.
Your Coping Mechanisms in the Biennale 2019 is based on text responses from a group-chat conversation. What was the inspiration for using text messages?
I feel that text messages are very appropriate as a medium as the younger generation is interacting with text much more than my generation. They are constantly on their phones reading and writing. Some purists might have issues with the English used in text messages, but like it or not, this medium of communication is what young people use the most, and will resonate best with them. I believe that poetry should be accessible to all. It is not just for people with an excellent command of the language, be it written or spoken. Everyone can explore it as a means of expression.
And where did you get the idea for the theme “Coping Mechanisms”?
“Coping Mechanisms” is borne out of private conversations I had with my friends during a difficult period – the brownface debate which Youtuber-influencer Prettipls brought to public attention with her rap. As a minority, I feel these issues on a different level. It was something close to my heart and it affected friends as well. Responses to discrimination, especially when you exist as a minority of any kind can often be anger, shame and helplessness, then feeling drained and exhausted.
So our coping mechanism was to think and speak about things that gave us joy or encouraged us to carry on in the face of adversity, discrimination and negativity. I was bowled over by how empowering and uplifting this action was. When we shared these moments, we rejoiced and celebrated together. Turning those snippets of conversation into art in a public space was to display how it looks like to choose to be happy and positive, and how this choice can be in itself an act of resistance. It is also a constant reminder to us that in this bustling city, we can all keep going with some support from our friends.
You are very involved in promoting poetry education to groups like Mendaki and Sinda. Do you see yourself more as an educator or poet?
The two aren’t mutually exclusive. I am both. I cannot say if I am more of one or the other. It’s not some sort of scale so it’s an odd question to have to answer. As a teacher (and I will always be one), it is my hope that the classroom becomes a space where people can better discover who they are. Some of the things I do include speaking with groups like Mendaki and Sinda for ideas on how we can reach out to young people who have limited access to literary education.
What’s next in the pipeline for you?
I am working on a new book of poems but I can’t say how many poems it will have or even the theme. I am just letting the creative process guide me.
“POETRY IS A SPACE THAT ALLOWS FOR COMPLICATED EMOTIONS TO ‘UNPACK’ THEMSELVES. IT ALLOWS QUESTIONS THAT DON’T ALWAYS HAVE QUICK ANSWERS” — POOJA NANSI