You might not have heard of their names, and they are probably not as well known as designers in the fashion scene, but these people are making it big on the international design circles with their crafting and home furnishing/styling creations using upcycled materials, such as industrial waste, recycled plastics and sustainable glass.
Ashley Yeo, Cristian & Jade, Gabriel Tan, Jason Lim, Karyn Lim, Mike Lim, Tiffany Loy are just some of the outstanding designers slaying on the world stage and helping to bring the SG branding to collectors around the world.
With the Singapore Design Week round the corner, if you have time for just one exhibition, drop by Galerie 5 for this inaugural run of Designers & Crafters Edition, which showcases the works by the designers mentioned above. A collaborative effort between Industry+ and Sol Luminaire (the creator behind Galerie 5), the showcase runs till 1st October and all the pieces are available for sale as well (entry is free though). To save you some time, we visited Galerie 5 for a look to find out more about the show and the designers behind the works.
Ashley Yeo
Ashley YK Yeo graduated with a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Arts London, Chelsea College of Arts, London, United Kingdom in 2012 and a B.A. in Fine Arts from the LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore in 2011. She has participated in numerous exhibitions in Singapore, Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom, and the United States. Yeo was the first Singaporean artist to be shortlisted for the LOEWE Craft Prize, London, UK (2018). The sculptures in the showcase employ a consistent and exacting form of care towards paper, enabling what appears soft, and fragile to endure. At once delicate yet enduring, the paper works explore geometry, precision, and the spiritual power of simple materials.
Christian+Jade
Christian+Jade is the design studio of Christian Hammer Juhl (Denmark) and Jade Chan (Singapore). The duo began their collaboration while studying at the Design Academy Eindhoven. Currently based in Copenhagen, Christian and Jade explore design as an artistic form of expression with a special focus on craft and material.
Two key pieces are on display at Designers & Crafters 01: The Reflecting Flame (above) is a wall hung sculpture for candles in hammered aluminium that reflects the light of the lit candle. Its form plays on the flickering movement of a flame, creating a backdrop that radiates and emphasises its light. Each piece is crafted, hammered and finished by hand and produced in a limited edition of 20 pieces.
Proud to be Humble is a round mirror forming part of a collection of reflective surfaces hammer shaped and polished from a single sheet of aluminum. Surface tension is created to reveal layers of distorted reflections. In the distortion of a mirror, one searches for what they want to see.
Jason Lim
Jason Lim has established himself as a highly regarded artist whose work revolves around the intrinsic elements of nature: earth, water, air, fire, and space. Through his artistic endeavors, Jason delves into the profound connections between nature and our existence in this world. His creative expressions span various mediums, including ceramics, sculpture, photography, film, and performance art, each serving as a vehicle to unravel the interplay between the body, matter, and spirit.
The Cloud Series and the Crystalline Platters are on display at the showcase. For the Cloud Series, he explains that In Chinese culture, clouds hold symbolic significance and are often associated with the heavens, transcendence, and the spiritual realm. They represent the ever-changing nature of life, the impermanence of existence, and the interconnectedness of all things. By referencing cloud motifs from the Shang Dynasty bronzes, Jason hopes to tap into this rich symbolism, bridging the gap between past and present, and inviting viewers to contemplate the timeless and universal aspects of our relationship with nature.
With the Crystalline Platters, Jason’s exploration and experimentation with crystalline glazes on unconventional clay bodies, particularly in the form of circular platters resembling petri dishes or cell forms, provide an intriguing connection to his broader artistic themes. The use of crystalline glazes adds a unique dimension to Lim’s work, as these glazes create intricate patterns and formations that resemble crystalline structures found in nature. By applying these glazes on circular platters, which resemble petri dishes or cell forms, the designer draws attention to the microscopic world and the inherent patterns and beauty found within it. This connection to the cellular or microscopic level highlights the interconnectedness of all living things and reflects the fundamental building blocks of life.
Masutani May
A glass artist by training, Masutani May is a Singaporean currently living in Toyama, Japan. She uses the glass medium to convey the ephemeral and transient quality of moments between people and their interactions with their environment. Masutani has been showing her creations around the world since 2011. For this showcase, her collection dubbed Disposition highlights her craftsmanship in using fragile glass material to create string-like forms and coloured blocks.
Mike Lim
Principal Designer of DP Design since 2012, Mike Lim directs the concept design and design development of its wide range of projects including commercial complexes, retail and commercial developments, and residential buildings. Over the course of two decades, he has successfully led the homegrown interior design practice into the international arena; working on projects at a scale few interior designers are familiar with.
Mike holds that design perfection must not be defined by aesthetics alone; but must consider the way in which people experience space and interact with architecture, and inspire a deep sense of community and belonging. His body of works, including the retail component of Changi Airport Terminal 2, Paragon Shopping Centre, Our Tampines Hub, The Dubai Mall (Dubai, UAE), Emaar Square Mall (Istanbul, Turkey), Perennial International Specialist Medical Centre (Chengdu, China), Project Keiko (Kobe, Japan) and Cinemaxx Junior (Jakarta, Indonesia) and the retail planning and design of Terminal 5 for Changi Airport, stand as testaments to his design philosophy. In tis showcase, Mike’s collection of stools are made from offcut construction materials, highlighting their sustainability and emphasis on conversation.
R/R Labs
R/R is the embodiment of the creators’ unique personalities and a plethora of interests extending beyond brutalist aesthetics. It all began when Royston and Royce stumbled upon the idea of furniture design while working on a custom project for a client. Their shared love for design and fashion created the perfect foundation for this innovative venture. One distinguishing feature of their design philosophy is the primordial aesthetic, keenly exploring basic shapes and uses, showcased in their unapologetically simple collection. This aesthetic is a recurrent theme, not only in R/R but also in their other ventures, signaling a shared vision.
Studio Karyn
Local crafter Karyn Lim’s So Plast!c series features a collection of small tables made from recycled
plastic waste. Recyclable plastics from food and drink packaging are collected, sorted, cleaned, and processed into useable raw material for the production of eco-polymer sheets that can be used to make new products. What’s particularly impressive is that each table is made from approximately 6kg of plastic waste, which is 3000 bottle caps!
So Plast!c small tables pay homage to neoplastic principles of geometry, asymmetry, and the use of positive and negative elements. The compositions feature horizontal and vertical lines positioned in layers or planes that do not intersect; a characteristic typical to the
movement. So Plast!c tables are made using HDPE (high-density polyethylene) from bottle caps and PP (polypropylene) from food and drink packaging.