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Architecture and design
PostMagDesign & Interiors

Singapore Design Week: 10 Southeast Asian artists about to go on show at Emerge, part of Find – Design Fair Asia

Curated by Design Anthology’s Suzy Annetta, Emerge @ Find brings together up-and-coming talents from around the region alongside more established names, beginning September 26 at Marina Bay Sands

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Apiwat Chitapanya collaborated with brass furniture brand Masaya on this bench shaped like a giant gleaming arowana fish. He’s one of 10 Southeast Asian artists about to go on show at Emerge, part of Find – Design Fair Asia, which is part of Singapore Design Week. Photo: Courtesy of Apiwat Chitapanya
Joyceline Tullyin Singapore

Now in its third edition, Emerge @ Find brings together up-and-coming Southeast Asian talents alongside more established names. Curated by Design Anthology’s Suzy Annetta, the showcase is part of Find – Design Fair Asia, which takes place from September 26 to 28 at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, during Singapore Design Week.

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This year’s showcase features more than 50 designers from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam, each offering a different take on the show’s theme, “These Precious Things”. In a departure from previous years, selected entries will be available for sale at online art gallery The Artling, until September 28.

1. Apiwat Chitapanya, Thailand

Apiwat Chitapanya collaborated with brass furniture brand Masaya on this bench shaped like a giant gleaming arowana fish – a symbol of good fortune in many Southeast Asian cultures. Photo: Courtesy of Apiwat Chitapanya
Apiwat Chitapanya collaborated with brass furniture brand Masaya on this bench shaped like a giant gleaming arowana fish – a symbol of good fortune in many Southeast Asian cultures. Photo: Courtesy of Apiwat Chitapanya

The concept of value takes on a distinctly mythical and Southeast Asian spin with Thai designer Apiwat Chitapanya’s entry. A collaboration with brass-furniture brand Masaya, it is a brass bench shaped like a giant, gleaming arowana fish, a symbol of good fortune in many Southeast Asian cultures. The scales are made from hand-folded copper fabric, which gives a lifelike appearance, and its eyes are sparkling sterling silver.

2. Abie Abdillah, Indonesia

Kupu-Kupu means “butterfly” in Indonesian, and Abie Abdillah’s chair is so named for the intricate motif cleverly woven into the design of the backrest and in the shape of each chair. Photo: Handout
Kupu-Kupu means “butterfly” in Indonesian, and Abie Abdillah’s chair is so named for the intricate motif cleverly woven into the design of the backrest and in the shape of each chair. Photo: Handout
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