Defying skeptics, this photographer followed his passion to become a woodworker

Advertizing

Remarkable Living

Defying skeptics, this photographer followed his passion to become a woodworker

There are fewer than ten artisanal woodworkers in Singapore. Louis Kwok is one of them, and sees himself every bit an artist and designer who makes useful things for people.

31 Jan 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 16 Aug 2022 02:54PM)

For 15 years, commercial lensman Louis Kwok loved capturing moments in time. Merely it was the beauty of forest that ultimately captured his heart – and his hands.

His interest in woodwork was sparked by his married woman Adelene Koh, a professional bookbinder who restores vintage books and makes bespoke ones. She once asked him to brand a press to hold papers together while she worked on them.

Louis Kwok and his wife Adelene Koh. (Photo: Threesixzero Productions)

He recalled, "When I finished that printing, it was very ugly only I felt very accomplished. I felt very empowered considering I could make something, and information technology was useful. The whole journey started when I wanted to make that ugliness cute."

His deep passion for woodwork made him adamant to go overseas to hone his craft, despite many skeptics telling him that it was a sunset manufacture. He wanted to express his inventiveness in three-dimensional class, which he felt was defective in photography.

At that place are fewer than ten artisanal woodworkers in Singapore. Louis Kwok is one of them. Find out why he gave upwards a career as a commercial photographer to pursue his passion for woodcraft.

"My human relationship with timber is a very love-hate relationship. I love it because information technology's a very malleable, tactile material. Then again, I sometimes detest it because information technology is also very volatile and information technology also has its own moods," he shared.

"Information technology changes due to temperature and wet levels. It can aggrandize, contract, or twist and turn in unexpected ways, so y'all really have to exist careful of the type of material that you use for a specific project."

There are fewer than 10 woodworkers in Singapore and Kwok is one of them. (Photograph: Threesixzero Productions)

There are fewer than ten woodworkers in Singapore and Kwok is one of them. His exercise is known as Kjung Woodwork. In 2012, he studied one-to-ane for 3 days nether an accomplished artisan in Tokorozawa in central Japan, learning how to utilize traditional Japanese tools to craft tables and cabinets.

A year later, he enrolled at the Peter Sefton Furniture School in the Britain. There, he was intrigued by the geometrical shapes that he could create with veneers and wanted to create curves and more complicated designs with it. He later interned at the Atelier Lacroix Marrec in Paris to deepen his skills in marquetry.

"Marquetry is something that allows me to expand my designs into more intricate details and pictures. I call back I'g very fortunate to have found my love for it and for making boxes and piecing the both of them together," he said.

Kwok has received commissions for a range of items from the practical to the quirky. He has created a personalised photo album box with a secret compartment; a magic box for a chef to brandish desserts and cakes; and a humidor from Spanish cedar, which locks in the optimal moisture level to preserve cigars.

Among his many creations is this magic box for a chef to display desserts and cakes. (Photo: Threesixzero Productions)

He has also made whisky trays, knife sheaths and bookbinding equipment. The smallest piece he has ever created is a proposal ring box, and the largest, a modular wardrobe that took six months to handcraft from solid cherry woods.

One of his favourite pieces is an angled stool for an uncommonly alpine client to meditate on comfortably. "I decided to use motifs of lotus and colours from what yous would normally come across in a monastery in Bhutan, around that region."

1 of his favourite pieces is an angled stool for an uncommonly tall client to meditate on comfortably. (Photograph: Threesixzero Productions)

Kwok particularly loves working on boxes and feels that their characteristics are a reflection of himself. He explained, "At that place are so many things you can put into a box. For me, the nearly important matter is to make sure that it has a 'wow' factor. It's not just [a receptacle with] 4 sides and a lid, it tin likewise [come up with a] secret compartment.

"My boxes have layers that get deeper and deeper and deeper. Perhaps that reflects my character as well: There are many layers to my personality and my interests."

Kwok intends to button his creativity further through the use of marquetry and the integration of materials such as metals and even bones. (Photograph: Threesixzero Productions)

He intends to push his creativity farther through the use of marquetry and the integration of materials such equally metals and fifty-fifty bones, ultimately creating museum-worthy pieces.

"Every piece I make has to concluding for a long fourth dimension. The intention is to have that piece passed down from generation to generation. I think that every project and committee that comes to me is a learning experience. I'm very thankful that I have that opportunity to detect new things."

"I remember that every projection and commission that comes to me is a learning experience. I'm very thankful that I have that opportunity to detect new things," said Kwok. (Photo: Threesixzero Productions)

Adapted from the series Remarkable Living (Season 3). Watch total episodes on CNA, every Sunday at 8.30pm.

Defying skeptics, this photographer followed his passion to become a woodworker

Advertizing