The modern poetry of rattan
- Si Ying is a self-made artisan who discovered rattan by accident
- She is an experience designer by day, rattan weaver by night
- Using rattan in novel ways is her driving ambition
Si Ying Ng grew up doing art and crafts with her mother and went into visual communication studies to become a graphic designer. It was on a casual visit with a friend to one of Singapore's oldest rattan shops, that the young woman discovered rattan and fell in love with it. After her first visit, she returned several times to this shop, until eventually, the two veteran rattan weavers agreed to teach her their craft. She spent one year learning rattan chair weaving restoration with them. Her interest in rattan grew stronger and developed into a passion for finding new ways of using rattan. Now, Si Ying is exploring new applications for her craft, combining it with other materials such as ceramic. Her work introduces a new aesthetic that breaks away from what we commonly see with rattan, in a very poetic manner.
INTERVIEW
Before discovering rattan, I had been looking for a medium that was not yet commonly explored. I wanted to explore and exhaust a material completely, experiment with it and push its aesthetic, physical and cultural boundaries. Rattan is a forgotten material that seemed to not have a place in the contemporary world, and as such it fitted perfectly as my ideal material.
Rattan is a material that is native and of high importance to the Southeast Asian region. The processing of rattan as a raw material and the making of rattan products are closely tied to Singapore’s economic history. Rattan furniture and household items were commonplace in the homes of Singaporeans in the 1960s and 1970s. But there has not been much exploration into new designs with rattan since.
Most rattan weaving techniques are passed down verbally or through apprenticeship. There are not many formal classes or teachers. I looked to a variety of non-traditional sources of inspiration, including fishing knots, paracords, mizuhiki, textile weaving, even shoelaces, and anything else that might offer interesting possibilities for experimentation.
I try to explore a range of forms, patterns and weaving techniques as much as possible and take inspiration from anything and anywhere. I don't follow any traditional patterns. In fact, I am perhaps trying to do the opposite: I want to explore what rattan can do that is not traditional.
