TANIA MAY LEONG

A maker struggles, never knowing where the road will lead, not knowing if the end is near, yet a maker continues. Realisation, a mirage, far off in the unseen distance, yet a maker plods on, gratification in every stroke made, the goals firmly planted in the mind’s eye.

I’m proud to call myself a maker.

To create burgeons a dream, and a dream burgeons creation.

On this small bustling island, Singapore, a fast-paced pragmatic country, with its limited land space and tall shiny buildings, has hardly any space for the dreamers, the free spirits, the artists and the makers. Those happened to be born such, inevitably find themselves floundering and clawing through a system of dollars and ‘sense’ to create their hearts’ desires. A country where frivolity is frowned upon, and where art has to find practicality in order to survive its harsh environment, inevitably molds a certain kind of creatives – the kind that fights to stay relevant, the kind that will do no matter what to continue what they do, the kind that digs a niche in society just so that they have a voice and a place to belong.

Practical effect, propsmaking, conceptualising and designing for film came to me in a rather fortuitous way. From being mentored under production designer, Ian Bailie, after chancing upon his name in a theatre e-newsletter to being under the tutelage of Paul Pistore, Mr Moose of Captain Kangaroo, puppeteer and diverse puppet maker, I must say that I have been quite fortunate to be able to grow and learn from these masters over the past 5 years since graduating from university. They gave me a chance to traverse into boundaries that were once-upon-a-time mere fantasies within the confines of our small borders. I have never turned back since I’ve found my practicality in art.