KINDRED SPIRITS
Eight emerging creative names who share the same pursuit as us: challenge the way people see and think
From a platform connecting charities and social causes with creatives to a design studio which has mushrooms (yes, fungi) as its primary medium, the eight emerging creative names spotlighted here share the same pursuit as us: challenge the way people see and think. By Keng Yang Shuen
SAINT GRAAL
WHAT: Started by Singapore-based students Yuan Kun (left), Kendrick Choo (middle) and Edward Soh (right) – the first two major in fashion media; the last, business management – this year-old accessories label is dedicated to the trio’s one shared passion: leather. WHY: It’s a deeply supple and primordial vision that they have for the material. Wallets come with a raised, tactile imprint akin to bulging veins while the hems of bag flaps are left raw and asymmetrical. The hardware meanwhile is almost always industrial and matte. Creating these pieces is a tedious process. Take for example how the white designs in its Spring/Summer 2021 collection – inspired by the literature of Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin – are created by hand-painting each one with ash. (They decline to reveal what was burnt in order to produce it.) Everything from marketing to production is done in-house and the overall effect is irreverent (a post on its Instagram account @saintgraal_ features a miniature bag in the palm of a sushi chef). The message: These are cool kids in the know. Fans of the darkly romantic aesthetic of labels such as Ann Demeulemeester and Haider Ackermann consider this your new holy grail (which, by the way, is what their name means in French).
DENISE CHONG
WHAT: The namesake “pet project” of emerging fashion designer/fashion media student Chong (below right), which has been making a name for itself for bringing a throbbing undercurrent of body consciousness and sex to the tradition of beadwork. Those interested in a custom order should hit her up on Instagram (@denisechongg). WHY: Handiwork and a focus on age-old crafts have been making a comeback with the pandemic exacerbating that fervour and Chong’s work marries this with the new. Her pieces are admittedly more editorial than commercial, but that’s okay: She’s intrigued by how fashion has the power to evoke intense emotions. Applying that febrile energy to her designs has seen her fashioning bra tops, body harnesses, thongs and head coverings out of silvery beads that make one think of another provocateur: Paco Rabanne. There is empowerment to be gained from the donning of provocative garments, she says – contrary to what is preached by societal naysayers. “When I created Coercion (her debut collection revealed last year), it was heavily inspired by the shape of a woman’s body,” she says. “With this second collection – named Intrigue – I wanted to open a conversation about gender-nonconforming garments that are more androgynous and can be worn on everyone. I also strongly believe that not everyone is the size of a mannequin. My made-to-order pieces allow me to cater to a more diverse range of body types.”
BEWILDER
WHAT: Mycology is not a term one would usually encounter outside of academic circles, but for the uninitiated, it’s the scientific study of fungi. Started by artist Ng Sze Kiat, this Singapore-based “mycological design studio” expands the possibilities of the field into broader spheres such as gourmet, medicinal, sustainable packaging and even art. WHY: While Ng had already been growing mushrooms as a hobby for a decade, it was only earlier this year that saw the debut of his mushroom artworks at Singapore Art Week as part of the group show Creative Unions. Bizarrely alluring (think along the lines of the film Avatar and its bioluminescent flora) and alien-like, Ng’s vivid sculptures quickly became a highlight of the show. Working with living organisms presents its own difficulties including issues of contamination and unpredictable growths, but the artist says the results are worth it. Beyond art, he also conducts cultivation workshops and sells more than 30 mushroom species such as cordyceps and lingzhi on his website (www.bewildersg.com). The applications for mushrooms are infinite, including using them as filters to remove contaminants from the environment and replacing plastic as an ecological alternative. “Fungi are indeed the future, and I hope that more people will awaken to its wonders, says Ng. Next to launch: Bewilder’s own home-grown version of the lion’s mane mushroom.
THE FLOWER DEN
WHAT: This four-month-old outfit is one of the newest – and most playful – members of the local floristry scene with its riotously colourful and artful aesthetic. WHY: Founder Gabrielle Lim (right) professes to be an avid art enthusiast and has long been obsessed with famed colourists such as Rothko, Cezanne and Rembrandt. This obsession manifests in her spirited arrangements. For example, while others might temper vivid sprays of orchids (a favourite) and anthuriums with an earthy vessel, she contrasts them with striking colour-blocked acrylic and glass vessels. The 36-year-old was a fashion buyer for a good decade (stints include Club21 and Adidas by Stella McCartney) and has studied both Western and ikebana arrangement styles, all of which add to her eye and appreciation for design. Some of her newest works sees her building on her love for art, painting flowers with iridescent coats to create an otherworldly, almost holographic effect that’s certainly not your garden variety posy.
LINAOTH
WHAT: The eponymous label of rising designer Lina Osman (left) that caters towards weddings and occasions – and makes you rethink how you should dress for them. WHY: Osman, a Temasek Polytechnic fashion design alumni, brings a contemporary vision to bridalwear, eschewing traditional elements like heavy beadwork in favour of clean silhouettes, elegant cuts and minimal seaming. (Read: Her designs can be worn post-wedding too.) One of her earliest designs for a couple saw the 24-year-old produce a pair of relaxed, collarless suits that echoes the work of contemporary fashion houses such as Jil Sander. The lead time for a custom piece takes up to half a year, but that’s because of her immaculate eye for detail (she points out that she takes into account everything from the customer’s personal style to body shape) and is a one-woman show (she designs, drafts and sews everything). “For the longest time, I’ve had a vision of how I would like my own wedding outfits to be like and they weren’t readily available in the bridal market,” she explains. “This is something I’ve been trying to achieve with Linaoth: to push the limits of a wedding outfit.”
OBJECT LESSONS SPACE (OLS)
WHAT: A digital platform founded by art historian and curator Joella Kiu (above) that focuses on articles, conversations and long-form interviews with artists and creative practitioners. WHY: In today’s relentless consumption of content and shrinking attention spans, a space dedicated towards an intentionally slow exploration of ideas is a rare gem. OLS is one such initiative. New “issues” are published every two months (read them at https://objectlessons.space). This deliberately spaced-out schedule means that she’s able to move away from chasing the news cycle, reviews and the like that typically dominate arts-centric portals. Instead, Kiu concentrates on featuring a diverse slate of artists whose practices resonate with that particular issue’s theme. All interviews include getting the artist to pick out a few works that they’ve had a formative experience with or found compelling. (Among the names who’ve been featured are Kelly Lim and Yeyoon Avis Ann, whose works are featured on this page and opposite respectively.) In doing so, OLS fosters more nuanced and thoughtful dialogues around art. “I think that there’s something precious and intimate about being able to follow the meandering trajectories of a conversation,” she says. “It gives people the space to really expand on the things that they’ve been mulling over or working on.” In collaboration with Singapore Community Radio, OLS also hosts a podcast series titled Mushroomed while a physical publication is in the works.
MAKING MEANING
WHAT: The non-profit platform started by creative director Danielle Ng (above) last March as a job board of sorts to connect charities and social causes with creatives who volunteer their skills and time for pro-bono work. WHY: Witnessing the massively successful #HomeForAll Migrants campaign that raised nearly a million dollars last year for migrant workers in Singapore got Ng thinking about how design can contribute to making a social impact. A year on, Making Meaning has blossomed into a more educational space where misconceptions about both parties (clients and creatives) are raised and addressed. Ng also puts down guidelines to protect the interests of all parties to avoid misunderstandings and excessive changes down the line (every creative who understands this, say aye). So far, more than 60 “matches” have been created through the platform and proven to be beneficial to not only non-profits, but also the volunteers – with both students and professionals telling Ng that working on these projects have helped them gain confidence or a renewed sense of purpose. Says Ng: “For the wider society to truly appreciate design, it has to begin with us valuing our own skills, and approaching design work with that same attitude.”
TAN SHAO QI
WHAT (OR RATHER WHO): A ceramic design student at Central Saint Martins in London, Tan is an artist to keep an eye on for her laborious yet impossibly ethereal creations that celebrate the oftenoverlooked bits of the natural world – think common local weeds and wildflowers. Her next exhibition is on at Gajah Gallery Yogyakarta in July as part of the group show Matter Manipulate Matter. WHY: The 20-year-old’s porcelain works – her way of immortalising local flora – is especially important given Singapore’s ever-changing landscape. Take Little Ironweeds – on display at Gillman Barracks recently – that saw Tan display miniature rows of Cyanthillium cinereum (a wayside plant here) atop concrete steps. The work is intended to be a reflection on how such native species thrived during last year’s lockdown when grass-cutting was pared back, she explains. Typically snowy-white and finely detailed, her botany-inspired creations can take months to come to fruition – not least because of the intrinsically fragile nature of her medium. Each work is carefully moulded to emulate their real world counterparts. She even takes into consideration the natural interplay between light and shadow when sunlight streams through the leaves and branches. “These abstractions of nature implore audiences to not only be aware of the – of natural things, but also to appreciate the value and raw beauty in all their stages, especially in the moments closest to their demise.”