The Pursued And The Pursuing

"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired." - F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby.

Who: Mathilda D’Silva
Day: OMS Creative, Creative Director
Night: Singer . Musician


Mathilda is one of those rare talents who has the voice of whiskey soaked dark chocolate in the vein of soul greats from the 70’s. Her joy for singing and performance stem from her great love for music and sharing it with those who are willing to stop and listen. She performs at the Esplanade Recital Studio on 29 January 2010.

What is the relationship like between your daily professional pursuits, and your nightly artistic ones?
My day starts at 5am and I must admit I’m a stickler for punishment. This manic schedule started when I began my company OMS CREATIVE in 2008. Everyday is a mixed bag of shenannigans, I helm a radio show, I do voiceovers, I direct and produce corporate stuff and then head home, detox for 15 minutes, get my dress on and hair done and head out to sing.

There is an artistic synergy between all my activities, some of them spill from one into the other. Somedays when I’m doing an interview about semi-conductors I might see something in the parking lot that inspires me to paint. Sometimes being on stage and singing, I see people in the audience and that inspires a idea for an article. Even eating pancakes can inspire me to write a song. So everything sort of…informs each other.

I have warmed up slowly to the idea that as an artist, you must quite simply, make art everywhere you go. Its so strange that in our creative industry, we tend to bemanfucaturing tired, old ideas and we can be some of the most un-inspired people around…always moping about commercialism and its pitfalls. I mean I go to work to sing, to talk to 4 million singaporeans everyday, to play music, to inform, to create shows that just a few months ago, were scribbles on a piece of toilet paper.

How cool is that? I wear whatever I want, blast my music and spend my days as a wordsmith. How many people can say that they pursued their passions to the n-th degree? Most just sell out for a $15,000 handbag or a condo. That thought is what keeps me motivated to “keep on keeping on” even though sometimes I might not even be able to afford my handphone.

What is one love / craft you would like to pursue and be good at this year?
Any friend of Mathilda will tell you that she never wants to do “just one thing.” She sets unattainable goals and has all manner of ridiculous ideas that would tire a prize-winning Olympic skater.

You could say this year is about fulfilling the dreams of the last. I remember being that wistful creature, sitting in office till 10pm, wondering if I will ever travel, learn a new language or dance. Following my one day back-packing musical sabbatichal to Liverpool last year, I realised that somedays you just have to “get up and go.” And that’s what I did. That’s how I got to be on stage at The Cavern Club, singing at the very spot where The Beatles got their first break.

Its amazing where cockamaime ideas, luck and a splash of talent can take you.

I decided to take my artistic life into my hands and silence my inner critic.

This year is about the music actually. I want to start improving my song-writing, my musicianship on the piano and the drums. I have also decided to take up dancing and hopefully I will learn how to dance with a partner and not grind his feet into the parquet with my heels.

Who: Little
Day: fFurious, Design Director
Night: Mixed Media Artist

Little is the founder of fFurious, a multi-disciplinary studio that has been at the forefront of Singapore’s design circles. Whether commercial work or exhibitions, their creative executions have always pushed the audience to think and react to the mediums at hand.

What is the relationship between pursuing commercial success professionally and creative satisfaction personally?

Without commercial success, I’d be living the life of a starving artist. But without creative satisfaction, I’d be burnt out and would have dropped out of this business long ago. I find that it’s intricately linked and a continued struggle to maintain a fine balance between them.

What is one love / craft you would like to pursue and be good at this year?
That’s tough, I’ve always been a happy jack of all trades; never contented to pursue one craft for long. If I had to choose, perhaps it might be illustration as I enjoy it tremendously and find myself not doing enough of that recently.


How do you stay motivated in your pursuits?
The satisfaction of doing something and the knowledge that there’ll be people out there who’ll be happy to simply see them.

Who: Audrey
Day: koumi koumi, Owner
Night: koumi koumi, Owner


What started as a little blogshop project with a love for vintage, koumi koumi has flourished into an online fashion store that serves to a niche of women who appreciate an understated beauty yet thrill us with flashes of summer hued fun.

What is it about koumi koumi that allows you to labour with delight?
It thrills me everyday that Koumi is something borne out of self, idea and passion. I work really hard to keep the business running, but it has also given me great pleasure to work with some amazing people like Chris Ong, Sy Chia and others.

This pursuit would be nothing without friends, and of course, which girl doesn’t love new clothes? This is my labour of love! I started Koumi when I was still a Mass Comm student for the extra pocket money, but now it’s grown to involve wonderful relationships with customers and people who have helped me along the way, and I love seeing my clothes on random people.

Also, I’m mad about vintage and its culture. Koumi has a range of vintage apparel, which I handpick during my travels abroad.

What is one love / craft you would like to pursue and be good at this year?
A new language! I meet people of different nationalities when I go on merchandizing trips, it would be great if I could communicate better with them. Some of them are people I really want to get to know.


How do you stay motivated in your pursuits?
I think about the people I love, and the people who love me. About where I started out from. That way you always stay grounded, while you’re free to let go and dream. Look forward, don’t look back. Remember the people who need you and the ones who actually do care about you.

Who: Noel
Day: BBH, Digital Creative Director
Night: Frontman for Suchness


A stalwart of Singapore’s indie music scene back in the 90’s, Noel was already fronting the band, Suchness, and paving the way for future bands with their irresistible pop hooks and melodies. Now, after a decade away from the scene, and the insatiable hunger to keep writing songs, Noel’s new band, Shelves, looks set to blaze another trail of power-pop goodness.

You’re the digital head in one of Singapore’s best advertising agencies, and recently resurrected a new super-group, Shelves, after a 10 year hiatus. What is the relationship between your professional creative pursuits and personal creative pursuits?
Digital head sounds like interactive porn. Probably more fun than what I’m doing now. Don’t really see too much of a separation between personal and professional pursuits. I actually like what I do at work. Same with the band. So I guess from where I’m standing I’m just a lucky guy doing things he likes to do.

What is one love / craft you would like to pursue and be good at this year?
Funnily enough I would actually like to be able to sing and play the guitar better. I think you can only play the look-I’m-indie card for so long. So yeah, that would be nice.

How do you stay motivated in your pursuits?
When you like what you do, it’s easy to stay motivated.

Who: Randy
Day: b e t t e r m e n, Director / Sinema SG, Founder
Night: Filmmaker


Randy has achieved what many aspiring filmmakers can only dream of. Already an accomplished film producer with the exceptional local feature film, The Days (2009), he also founded Sinema SG to bring the local film community together. Never one to stay still, he recently started a new multi-disciplinary studio, b e t t e r m e n, and looks set for even greater heights this year.

Being both a film director professionally as well as an artist, what is the relationship like between your daily professional pursuits, and your nightly artistic ones?
I have always chosen to work on projects that I will enjoy creating, hence, real work for me is really a great time to play. Perhaps I have been lucky the past 10 years but I would like to think that somehow the opportunities have been somewhat created. For nightly artistic ones… what are you referring to? Haha… I play lots of poker at night and almost every weekend. (Author’s note: I was referring to his personal film projects, but like he said, the job and the personal projects are so greatly entwined!)

What are your motivations for pursuing a dream of starting b e t t e r m e n?
I started a design based agency maybe 9 years back. Since then I’ve gotten my hands dirty with film and started Sinema.SG and eventually Sinema Old School – all in the good faith of trying to promote Singapore films. So I had the opportunity to dabble in graphic design, photography, filmmaking, event management, PR… the whole “she-bang” lah. Starting b e t t e r m e n this year is a new step toward creative freedom. If someone were to ask me what we do – I would like to call it a multi-disciplinary agency – which is a nicer way of saying – “will do ‘almost’ anything.”

What is one love / craft you would like to pursue and be good at this year?
Wow – I like this question. I want to go old-skool and do silk-screen printing. I’m already starting a collaboration with another designer friend of mine.

Many thanks to all the interviewees for taking the time to answer our questions! And be on the look out for more works from these artists in 2010!

As a special anecdote, the editors of Happyesque also share their own creative pursuits for this year.

Brian // I want to be better at web publishing with Happyesque, and be more adept at songwriting and producing music in my bedroom because I play in too many bands.

Adib // All good works come from the soul and so, this is the year where I take a good hard look at my values and consciously grow my soul. And while I’m at it, always try to live life, take things easy and stay Happyesque.