Fictive Fingers Studio by Aisah and Hani Dalduri

I’m so delighted to have recently made the acquaintance of two more print and paper artists!

Earlier this year, self-taught artists (and sisters!) Aisah and Hani Dalduri quit their day jobs and opened a printmaking studio in a heritage building in Chinatown. Fictive Fingers Studio specializes in handprinted textiles and papers and has developed a sweet line of products, ranging from apparel to stationery. ”We sew and print and paint everything,” Aisah tells me. “Just the two of us.” Their latest collection of handprinted home goods and paper products, Spring Kingdom, is now available in their relaunched Etsy shop. Their surface patterns are delicate and organic. I’ve my eye on their fabric sampler; I see a small quilt in my near future!

The women of Fictive Fingers Studio also teach workshops in their Sago Street space. This month, the Dalduri sisters will be conducting an apron making workshop on May 24 and a three-part introductory silkscreen printing workshop on consecutive Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. For full class descriptions, costs, and registration information, please contact hello@fictivefingersstudio.com.

Connect with Fictive Fingers on Facebook and follow on Twitter.

(Additional credits: Photographs by Fictive Fingers Studio; photo layout via Pugly Pixel.)

Reflect/Refract: Essays on Photography in Singapore

If you have even the least bit of interest in contemporary visual culture in Singapore (and especially photography and surrounding discourses that utilize photography), get your hands on Reflect/Refract: Essays on Photography in Singapore, a new journal published by photography and filmmaking centre Objectifs.

According to co-editors Charmaine Toh and Cyril Wong, Reflect/Refract ”humbly [aims] to help fill an embarrassing void that continues to exist in our country’s arts culture  with regard to in-depth art criticism, particularly with regards to the visual arts.” They argue that “there are perhaps too many artists and too few art writers with sufficient space—and freedom—to critique our country’s aesthetic output.”

I agree; a journal like this is much needed. Occasionally, one can find a shoddily researched “review” in local newspapers and magazines. But it is rare to read well written and intellectually rigorous art criticism in print. I enjoyed: “Blindspot: Imaging People in Photographs” by Bridget Tracy Tan, a look at the history of portraiture; “Yesterday Once More: Nostalgia and Photography in Singapore” by Charmaine Toh, a visual essay about the proliferation of different types of nostalgias in the current age; and “The Non-Affirmative: Jason Wee, Photography, Scopophobia” by Louis Ho, a discussion of the oeuvre of multidisciplinary artist Jason Wee that places Wee as “one of the most critical voices of the emergent generation of Singaporean artists.”

Reflect/Refract: Essays on Photography in Singapore is available at Objectifs and Select Books for S$20.

(Additional credits: Ann Siang Hill by Deanna Ng.)

Once Upon Singapore: The Exhibition

A charming and ambitious exhibition, “Once Upon Singapore,” opened on Friday, April 5. Designer and curator Yun Xin Seah attempts to tell the “nation’s history” through an extensive display of personal objects. Each of the artifacts holds “fond memories for the friends, school mates, and contributors [to] this exhibition,” she says. The show features childhood objects from a number of Singapore’s most creative minds, including bookseller and publisher Kenny Lek and designer Yah-Leng Yu.

FYI, “Once Upon Singapore” closes on Sunday, April 7.

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Butbutbut, what’s up with all these nostalgia-tinged exhibitions here in Singapore? Nostalgia refers back to an earlier period in an individual’s life and draws on biased or selective recall of past experiences. The tendency of individuals to feel nostalgic emotions has not gone unrecognized by marketers and politicians. And nostalgia, as art, can be predictable, safe, and regressive.

Friends tell me that this longing for Singapore’s “good all days”—which they admit is an utterly mythical construct—stems from the pace at which this island nation has developed. But I find that explanation to be much too simplistic. What are your theories?

Guest Post: Singapore’s Best Coffee

It seems as if a new independent coffee shop pops up daily on this tiny island. So, who brews the best cup o’ joe? I turned to my dear friend Yann, blogger, mother, and coffee connoisseur, to share her picks with you.

To Yann…

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I love my coffees. Ever since I tasted my first cup of artisanal coffee, I have never looked back. I prefer brews made by the baristas of independent cafes to those from the multinational coffee chains.

It’s a pastime of my little family to check out new cafes that have been sprouting on our island nation. We have tasted quite a few cups of java; these are the joints that we find ourselves returning to again and again.

My tastebuds have Smitten Coffee and Tea House (60 Robertson Quay, #01-11) to thank for the education I have received in java tasting. This was where I drained my first cup of artisanal coffee, all the while thinking, this isn’t like the latte that I am used to having at Starbucks. Using beans faithfully brewed by proprietor Darren himself, the cuppa that you get at Smitten is smooth and robust with a hint of cocoa. I love the unpretentious and rustic set up of the café. And  the owners certainly have a discerning taste in magazines (think Frankie, Lula and O Comely).

Darren has also ventured into the CBD area with his latest outing, homebodies (60A Boat Quay). With its large windows overlooking the Singapore River and the Marina Bay Sands, homebodies is truly as its name suggests: a homely, cosy little space for busy urbanites to take a breather. The little space consists of two large communal tables and bar stools at the windows and at the coffee counter. We were there on a rainy Saturday afternoon and it was the perfect refuge from the dreary grey skies. Lulling jazz music was playing in the background as we indulged in a cup of Smitten brew and a hotdog—wagyu for him and kurobuta for me.

Weekend brunch has become something of a ritual for our family of three. It’s a time for us to unwind and share our love for food—hey, we are Singaporeans afterall—with our little man. We find ourselves at Chock Full of Beans (4 Changi Village Road, #01-2090) on a regular basis. The service is top-notch and the brunch menu is hearty and delicious. The coffee is decent and comes with adorable, whimsical latte art that promises to bring a smile.

Being “easterners,” we were very glad to see the opening of Penny University (402 East Coast Road) in the Katong area. It’s an interesting space. There is a mix of single tables, bar stools along the coffee counter, booths, and a communal table. The furniture is a mishmash of wooden pieces and the dim lighting serves to make one feel unhurried and at leisure. The menu is limited but the café is good at what it does serve. Enjoy a delectable slice of pie (we liked the pecan pie as well as the s’mores) or a cupcake from local bakery Windowsill Pies alongside your brew.

Speaking of Windowsill Pies, we checked them out at their shop, Windowsill in the Woods (78 Horne Road). After tucking into a lunch that can only be described as “interesting” (pasta with octopus and chicken heart, anyone?), we proceeded to devour their Strawberry Lemon Tart. It was just the perfect balance of tangy and, well, tart. It’s a lovely place to while away the afternoon, especially if you get the table by the window.

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Where do you get your caffeine fix?

(Additional credits: Photographs by Yann; photo layout via Pugly Pixel.)

Singapore Icon Studio Project by S U P E R M A M A

I think I’ve found that very special ceramic gift for a very special person…

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The Singapore Icons Studio Project, a collection of ceramic ware by S U P E R M A M A, is brilliant!

S U P E R M A M A designer and co-owner, Edwin Low, asked five design studios to pay homage to everyday and familiar images and explore the possibility of identifying, beyond the Merlion, a “new” Singapore icon.

Each collection retails for $35.00; each item can also be purchased individually (chopstick stand: $5.00; saucer: $10.00; plate: $20.00).

Now, of course, I’m stumped as to which one to buy! HDB by Chang Shian Wei or The Dancing Joaquim by Quiet Studio or National Bird of Singapore by Relay Room or… ?

Gillman Barracks

I finally visited Gillman Barracks, Singapore’s cluster of contemporary art galleries, this week. The leafy Gillman Barracks—a colonial-style 1930s arcade named after the British general Webb Gillman—currently houses 13 international galleries. “The complex will eventually be home to… palm-fringed cafes and the inaugural Centre for Contemporary Art, where artists, curators and collectors are invited to congregate, lecture and work in residence.“

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I spent quite some time at Sundaram Tagore, the only New York gallery on site. (Sundaram Tagore has the barracks’ largest space at 390 square meters.) Their second exhibition, “Home and the World,” features a diverse group of painters, sculptors, and photographers who employ a visual language that is deeply rooted in tradition, but wholly modern. I was particularly drawn to Taylor Kuffner’s intoxicating conceptual sound installation—an orchestra of handcrafted percussion instruments derived from the traditional Balanese gamelan.

Whilst hopping from gallery to gallery, I also chatted with staff at each space. I asked gallery directors and assistants how both visits and sales were coming along. One director told me that they are slowly but surely building clientele in the region. One doesn’t get the foot traffic as one would had these galleries been housed in a mall-like setting, she said. On the contrary, the barracks offer the antithesis of the contemporary Asian gallery experience, “set as they are amid a literal jungle rather than a concrete one.”

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I also meandered around the the 15-acre grounds. A site specific exhibition, “Gillman Barracks: Encounter, Experience, and Environment,” features the works of sixteen Singapore-based and international artists and draws attention to the site itself. Eight Singaporean artists are represented: Heman Chong, Genevieve Chua, Jane Lee, Donna Ong, Ana Prvacki, Erika Tan, Vertical Submarine, and Ming Wong.

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So, in short, I’ll be going back again and again. There is so much good stuff here and I only sampled a bit. The galleries are open from Tuesday to Saturday from 11AM to 8PM and on Sundays from 10AM to 6PM. Admission is free—all day, every day.

(If you aren’t “into” contemporary art as I am, go for a run or bird-watch in this tranquil space. We spotted kingfishers and sunbirds while wandering from gallery to gallery.)

Bookbinding 101 on Design*Sponge [UPDATED, AGAIN]

I’m over at Design*Sponge, one of my favorite blogs, with the first of a three-part “Bookbinding 101″ series.

An excerpt:

My avocation became a vocation in 2010 when my partner and I left our beloved New York City for adventure in Singapore. I left behind a strong book arts community in the States and was eager to find or create one in my new home in Asia. So, in 2011, I launched a series of classes via [this] blog. Soon after, I was featured in The Straits Times, the national broadsheet, and became the go-to gal for book arts on this tiny island. Most recently, I’ve entered a long-term partnership with the National Arts Council to bring the book arts to as many as possible.

In my classes, I encourage students to look at the book or book-like structure as an art object and not merely as a vessel for their “content.” I remind them that all the elements of an artist’s book—from the paper to the text and/or images—are deliberately inter-connected and work in concert.

I’ve worked with children and senior citizens and I relish the challenge of sharing my love of this quirky art with those who may not have the access or the means to procure expensive tools and materials.

My former students will recognize that the five-hole pamphlet stitch, the first “Bookbinding 101″ post, is a variation of the three-hole pamphlet stitch that I teach in my introductory class!

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My profuse thanks to the very talented Claire Dalgliesh, an Australian designer and blogger currently based in sunny Singapore, who shot and edited the step-by-step photographs and drew illustrated diagrams for this series.

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UPDATE 1 (March 14): Part 2, Japanese Four-Hole Binding, is up!

UPDATE 2 (March 21): Part 3, Accordion Book, is up!