The Story Behind THE COVER
A talented artist, a Singaporean icon and the most sought-after stylist in town, Andre Tan talks about the creation of the Harper’s BAZAAR Art cover. By Claire Turrell
Launching a new magazine is like launching a collection. There’s the excitement, the endless quaffing of cups of espresso as you decide what’s going to make the final cut. And then there’s the key piece—and with Harper’s BAZAAR Art’s case, we’re talking about the cover. But, this was, we have to confess, the easy part, as it was the meeting of likeminded creatives. The cover needed to represent art, it needed to represent fashion and it needed to represent Singapore… This meant that it could only involve three people—artist Andre Tan of Galerie Belvedere, Harper’s BAZAAR Creative Director for Fashion and Beauty Kenneth Goh and the phenomenal Dick Lee.
While the Harper’s BAZAAR team works with endless fashion photographers, models and makeup artists on the cover, this was the first time that we had commissioned an artist to produce the cover. Kenneth Goh met with Andre’s team at Galerie Belvedere to see if it would be a commission that they would be happy to undertake and before he knew it, the two were deep in discussion bouncing ideas off each other.
Kenneth explains why Andre had to be the man who created our cover: “He has a beautiful sense of Asian popular culture, and marries it well with fashion. I loved his recent tongue-in-cheek work of Mao Tse Tung holding a Louis Vuitton bag, and touching on the Chinese obsession with designer goods.” Kenneth who usually shoots the Harper’s
BAZAAR covers was happy to hand over creative control this time to Andre. “I said that I wanted Dick Lee to be the focus and it needed to have a Singaporean feel. And I also wanted to add a fashion element as it’s Harper’s BAZAAR. That was my brief—the rest was for Andre to interpret,” says Kenneth.
Andre who took his MA in Fine Arts at Lasalle College of the Arts, has seen his career go from strength to strength. He first caught our eye with his anachronistic works that blended historical Chinese figures with Western luxury items, and he also put a smile on our faces with his collection of super hero paintings. So, it’s no surprise that his pop art style has attracted collectors from the UK, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia.
And now at his studio in Dunearn Road, Andre would be creating his next masterpiece—the Harper’s BAZAAR Art cover. “I was very excited. It is a great honour to be the artist for the inaugural issue of Harper’s
BAZAAR Art,” says Andre. While Andre plays with historical images, his creation of the image couldn’t be more 21st century. He creates a mood board on his computer and then as he starts to brainstorm and move around the images, his creation comes to life. Once he has the design he wants, he will project his drawing on to a canvas and then he will begin painting the piece. However, in the case of the BAZAAR Art cover, Andre decided to keep it as a digital artwork.
The focus of his creation for the cover was none other than Singapore legend Dick Lee, who had recently launched his inaugural exhibition, “Imperfect Memory.” “I was very excited to know that Dick Lee would be the subject matter of the painting,” says Andre. “Dick Lee is a very talented local icon and a household name. I grew up listening to Fried
Rice Paradise and Life Story!” But using such a vibrant star as Dick Lee on its cover also brought with it its challenges. “My challenge was how to present Dick Lee as a fashion and art icon without overkilling it,” says Andre. “I see Dick Lee as an incredibly inspiring figure and definitely one of the most recognisable icons in Singapore. I wanted to portray him as the new modern Asian—a fashionable “mad Chinaman” who never ages. I also used the floral Peranakan background to make a subtle reference to his roots.” A commission is a collaborative effort between the client, the gallery and the artist, says Andre: “The client’s input and desires are important. However, the creativity of the artist is equally important. You have to be open to ideas, allow artistic freedom and stay focused on the main concept of the commission.”
So that Andre could create his masterpiece, Rasina Rubin, the Director of Galerie Belvedere, sourced a variety of photographs of Dick Lee by photographer David Tan. The matching of clients and artists is something that Galerie Belvedere does regularly. Rasina’s expertise is in finding the perfect artist to bring your dreams to reality. And if you have difficulty explaining your vision, it’s the gallery who will work with the artist to make sure that you get the result you are looking for.
“I think Andre blended Peranakan culture, fashion, music, Singapore and put in colour and a touch of camp, which always helps to bring a smile to everyone’s face. We are super happy with the result,” says Kenneth of the collaboration.
And it wasn’t just the Harper’s BAZAAR team that was delighted with the piece, our cover star said how much he loved the artwork too: “I like how I seem so colourful even though the picture is in black and white. I have often thought of going out with a headdress like that, but I remember how uncomfortable it was to wear! I also love the touches like the flag pochette, as well as the floral background,” says Dick Lee. ■