Motherhood by sprmrktmotherhood

nin choong-wilkins carmee lim

sui chin han-mckeand

k u m a r i n a h a p pa n

Motherhood Trepidation. Zest. Guilt. Play. Motherhood could be about any of these words, or all of them. Each word encapsulates the motherhood experience for the four women who inspired this first edition of Motherhood—fashion entrepreneur n i n c h o o n g - w i l k i n s , lawyer and competitive speed-skater s u i c h i n h a n - m c k e a n d , veteran educator c a r m e e l i m and leading artist k u m a r i n a h a p pa n . Every word is expressed through a physical manifestation — a sculpture, a video, a sound-track and a ticker display — as well as an interpretation of a dish. sprmrkt celebrates Mother’s Day this May by sharing their deeply personal journeys as women and mothers through this immersive experience.

Motherhood will be on display at

sprmrkt Daily from 1—31 May 2018.

T R E P I DAT I O N

Nin Choong–Wilkins “Motherhood holds so many unknowns. Trepidation captures the anxiety I felt around becoming a mother but I also knew it was something I had to go ahead and do.”

Nin Choong-Wilkins’ personal history is inextricably laced with the story of luxury fashion in Singapore. The latest generation of fashionistas may not be familiar with Glamourette—the first local luxury multi-label boutique, opened by Nin’s mother in 1958—but its name was once synonymous with introducing the most daring brands of the day here: from Biba, Mary Quant and Yves Saint Laurent in the ’60s to John Galliano and Alexander McQueen in the ’90s. 2

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While Nin grew up on a diet of couture and street chic, the path she chose to walk left the gloss and ease of the runways far behind. At 18 years, Nin moved to London to study fashion at Central Saint Martins and continue the family business. There, she discovered a profound love for art and decided to do an about-turn, following her heart to Slade School of Fine Art. This caused a deep rift with her parents. Fifty years later, the emotions still run raw: “It was really in conflict with the plans they had for me; then I met my husband who was an artist which got them even more worried. They didn’t want to know anything about me and I didn’t see them for six years. It was quite traumatic.” Life’s harshest lessons are often the most precious ones. The experience opened her eyes to the importance of having open discussions with her children, and the close and mature relationship that Nin now shares with her son and daughter is the silver lining. “For me, it was black and white then,” she says. “When I became a parent I realised it was lots of shades of grey: it wasn’t because they wanted to stop you, but their concerns were real. I wish they had just verbalised it so that we could have had a discussion. It was about cultural differences, economic differences, and just coping with life; not just finance and business which was what I thought at the time. It has made me much more aware of my children’s predicaments.” If the measure of a mother’s success is what her children say about her, then Nin’s accomplishments are covetable. Rebecca Choong-Wilkins has an admiration for Nin that runs deeper than the mother-child relationship, belying a sincere respect for her as woman: “In my opinion, my mother is the biggest maverick I know. She is totally anti-traditional. She has never done anything anyone else’s way. She will never stand at the back of the queue. She doesn’t think that she is making a statement— that is just how she chooses to move through the world.”

“I love the layers in Gado Gado… the vegetables, the spices, the keropok. And you can change the taste, experimenting with more assam or chilli till it is just right for you.” nin choong-wilkins on her chosen dish, Gado Gado Salad

G U I LT

Sui Chin Han–Mckeand “Motherhood is about guilt… The flipside of motherhood is pain… Not all of us are natural mothers… Have I done enough?”

“I have lived through crises that are extraordinary,” states Sui Chin. Her voice does not betray a note of self-pity—it is simply a matter of fact. The former lawyer’s life was, in her own words, “hunky dory” till 2002. That year, the grim reaper got his foot in the door. Her son was entering Eton College—the exclusive English boys’ boarding school—when her husband was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. “Eton is a very male, father-oriented institution,” she explains. “Losing your father in your first year, you lose your identity. There were a lot of things stacked against him that he never really told me. He could hide a lot and when he started taking pot, none of us were any the wiser.” 4

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By the time he was 23, his drug use had triggered psychosis, bipolar and schizophrenia. After years in and out of mental wards, Sui Chin was stoic when a policeman knocked on her door to break the news that her son had jumped off the tracks at Westfield station. “I secretly hoped that I would bury him instead of the other way around. I wanted to spare him the loneliness, and to spare my daughter of the humongous responsibility, as the only relative, of taking care of him.” If the first act of Sui Chin’s life was about holding on, the second has been about letting go. Speed skating has provided her with an alternative social life, community and form of catharsis. She collided with the dynamic sport unexpectedly one night when a huge parade of skaters whizzed past her house with music blaring. “I thought this is what I want to do—a party on wheels!” she laughs. Today at 64, she is the oldest speed skater in Hyde Park, trains with skaters half her age and has earned a world ranking at the Berlin International Skate Marathon. “This is the weekend of my life. I have lived responsibly throughout and now I think I have the right to live recklessly. These young skaters validate my existence. I’m like their surrogate mother, listening to their ups, downs and love lives,” she reflects. “If I couldn’t save my own son, I hope to save someone else’s child through all this trauma and depression.” As heart-wrenching as motherhood has been, it has proven to be equally fortifying. “Being a mother tested my ability to give unconditionally. I have been loved and given love freely. It was a wonderful place to be in but one should never see it as permanent. I have learnt that it was gift that gave me great memories. It was a stage that shaped me and made me a more confident woman.”

“Hainanese chicken rice is my comfort food. I needed it throughout my pregnancy.” sui chin han-mckeand on her chosen dish, Boneless Chicken Rice Roulade

ZEST

Carmee Lim “‘Daughters of a Better Age’ is the Raffles Girls’ School motto. As principal, my greatest wish was that the girls in my care would celebrate their uniqueness, and not try to be somebody else; that they would live life with zest, using their talents to contribute back to society.”

The mere mention of Carmee Lim’s name never fails to elicit a laugh, a smile or simply a twinkle in the eye of her former students. The visionary principal of Raffles Girls Secondary School (rgs) from 1988 to 1999, Carmee “mothered” a generation of girls, now leaders in fields from aeronautics to government, technology and the creative arts across the globe. Still a dynamo at 78 years old, Carmee went back to school herself at 62 to complete a masters in early childhood development and continues to be an active disruptor in the education industry. 6

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“I believe that music is the strategy for learning. I’m indebted to my father for my passion—he gave me the gift of music,” shares Carmee. Moving from Malaysia to Singapore for better prospects when she was a child, her family squeezed into basement accommodation in the school where her father taught English and music. “He had a beautiful tenor voice. I remember him practicing every night on the piano in the school hall.” In his final moments, when he no longer had the strength to speak, music connected them. Carmee went to the keyboard and played his favourite song The Old Rugged Cross, bringing tears to his eyes. It made her appreciate the emotional power of music. As an educator, she has championed its incorporation in the classroom throughout her career. When rgs became independent in 1993, Carmee drew on the song If We Hold on Together to rally the rgs family—teachers, students, parents and alumnae—behind a bold new vision. She wanted to chart a new journey, where creativity and community mattered as much as academic pursuits. “Changing culture is very difficult but I believed that the lyrics would inspire us. We used to sing it at every school function!” Indeed, the song opens a floodgate of memories for students once under Carmee’s wing. Its refrain “Live your story, faith, hope and glory, hold to the truth in your heart,” still resonates decades later. For Motherhood, sprmrkt invited Fauxe—infamous music producer, singer, DJ and fellow active disruptor—to remix Carmee’s classic rendition of If We Hold On Together with electronic beats.

“Passion is my favourite word. It is the zing of yuzu in the dish of life that makes you run that extra mile to achieve your dreams.” carmee lim

on her chosen dish, Scallop Carpaccio with Yuzu 7

P L AY

Kumari Nahappan

“Motherhood is an infinite loop, it’s about continuity and resilience. The umbilical cord may be physically cut at birth, but the emotional bond between a mother and child never expires.Through motherhood, we explore just how far this bond can be stretched—pushing, pulling, moulding and challenging it. It is this play that shapes us as mothers.” 8

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Kumari Nahappan is a leading artist in Southeast Asia. Her monumental bronze chili-pepper— a beloved fixture outside the National Museum — is an evocative reflection on the abundant vitality within the small fruit. Similarly, a vibrant dynamism simmers within the depths of her meditative abstract paintings. It is the quiet strength of her works that draws the viewer in, offering a glimpse of the resilient woman behind them. Kumari’s decision to become a full-time artist came in her late 30s, after a full career as an interior designer and jam-packed life as a mother of four. It was the loss of her fifth daughter however that brought Kumari face-to-face with her own desires. “Losing that child gave me the courage and it changed my life,” she explains. Kumari went back to art college, finished her degree in one year instead of the regular four, and was invited by the late Brother Joseph McNally, the revered founder of lasalle College of the Arts, to present her first solo exhibition within months of graduating. While Kumari keeps her identity as a mother and as an artist distinct, her art is anchored in her life. “Life holds so many unknowns. The journey itself is a mystery but it is in making and creating every day that the answers reveal themselves to me. It is like motherhood. Every day as mothers, we add, we subtract, we nurture: we dream the spectrum, while managing expectations, the same way as I create art.”

“How far can a mother be stretched? Roti Jala, like motherhood, is about pushing, pulling, and infinite possiblities.” k u m a r i n a h a p pa n

on her chosen dish, Sweet Roti Jala. 9

SPRMRKT

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Index of works Kitchen

Main Entrance

Cashier & Counter

Side Entrance stpi

Entrance stpi

nin choong-wilkins Trepidation, 2018 Video by Quek Sue-Shan sui chin han-mckeand

Guilt, 2018 led display

carmee lim

Zest, 2018 Music by Fauxe with vocals by Carmee Lim k u m a r i n a h a p pa n

Play, no expiry date, 2018 Yarn, wire, banana fibre 11

SPRMRKT

About the team sprmrkt

is a unique culinary-cultural concept that merges F&B, retail and art into a single, yet multi-faceted, experience. Founded by Quek Sue-Shan and Joseph Yeo, the homegrown brand operates three venues for a lifestyle-oriented following and neighbouring residents. sprmrkt (Cluny Court) focuses on simple all-day fare accented with Southeast Asian flavours. At Robertson Quay, sprmrkt Daily is a lifestyle and dining riverside destination with casual all-day offerings and sprmrkt Kitchen & Bar is an ideal catering and private events space dedicated to hospitality and transformative experiences. Integral to the eateries are a retail space featuring thoughtfully curated, high-quality artisanal merchandise emphasising local and regional sources, and a space for contemporary art. pat r i c i a l e e

is a writer who specialises in fashion and culture. She has contributed to publications including Monocle, The Straits Times, T: NY Times Style magazine and Louis Vuitton City Guides. currency

is a design studio in Singapore that specialises in creating visual identities across art and cultural contexts. Their expertise lies in facilitating the presentation of thematic and artistic projects and developing aesthetic experiences.

Organised by sprmrkt, Motherhood was conceived and produced by Patricia Lee and Quek Sue-Shan. It is an on-going project that gives a voice to the diverse yet shared experiences of motherhood. For future editions, people are encouraged to contribute stories of mothers who inspire them on our Facebook page (@sprmrktmotherhood) in an open call for participants.

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