UBS Monocle
Heritage and innovation
Hans Tan
Founder, Hans Tan Studio
It is surprising to discover that Hans Tan can’t draw. However, it hasn’t deterred the four-time winner of Singapore’s highest design accolade, the President’s Design Award, from pursuing a trailblazing practice. “My medium of exploration is not sketching but working directly with materials,” he says.
What seemed like a weakness in university shaped the pathway for Tan to think conceptually and tinker with innovative techniques, like the Pour Table, a resin side table created without using a traditional casting mould. After months of experimenting with additives that altered the resin’s viscosity, he developed a method to achieve a seamless surface. Tan’s inspiration was a quotidian Singaporan scene – the making of kueh lapis sagu, a traditional steamed pastry – which demonstrates his unwavering vision to uncover everyday processes and objects in a new light. Tan’s groundbreaking inquiry into porcelain design caught the eye of the team at Mandarin Oriental Singapore, who commissioned him to create their signature Lion City fan emblem for the hotel’s lobby.
While Tan is continually seeking new ways of making, heritage and culture still stand at the heart of his oeuvre. “Design goes beyond utility,” he says. “It shows us how people in the past have lived and, ultimately, tells us who we are.”
Tan’s knack for melding the old and new provides a glimpse into where Singaporean design and creativity is headed. He puts it perfectly: “We may be a young nation without ancient traditions, but we’re great at reimagining and reinventing the old for the generations to come.”
Find Hans Tan’s works at the Supermama flagship shop at 213 Henderson Road, Singapore 159553.
hanstan.net
