An interview with a styrofoam sculptor
By GRACE CHENPictures by SAIFUL BAHRI
Who makes those giant-sized cartoon characters and toadstool houses at the amusement park? GRACE CHEN goes to Ipoh to meet an artist who transforms Styrofoam into three-dimensional art pieces.
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Yip Kok Yat tries to improve himself with every sculpture. |
I could see why.
The details were so realistic that we expected the dragons to crawl onto the front porch. How anyone could leave this thing of beauty to the mercy of the weather and to the possibility of theft was beyond me. But this is how Yip Kok Yat, 43, a backdrop and prop artist, advertises his business. And you can’t say it isn’t effective.
Yip comes across as an unassuming man, soft-spoken and very polite.
This father of an 11-year-old girl started out in a signage company called Kowloon Advertising, in his hometown when he was just 15.
“In those days we did not use computers. Everything, including the letterings, logos and product visuals, were drawn by hand and air-brushed. You had to be good or else the client would reject the order,” he recalls.
Then 10 years ago, Yip made a trip to Orchard Road in Singapore and what he saw there inspired him to try his hand at making 3D displays.
“It’s a different form of advertising. Instead of a flat signboard, you have a 3D visual or a larger-than-life prop to get your message across. It is more effective when you have a giant ice-cream cone to advertise an ice-cream parlour. Posters work too but they are not as eye-catching,” says Yip.
With no sifu to show him the ropes, Yip had to learn the trade through trial and error.
“I would study images from magazines and do sketches. Then I’d look at the colours to see how it was done. I guess having a keen sense of observation is important when you look at the things around you. If you are in this line, that is an important aspect to improving your skills,” he says.
When Yip started his own business in 1980, he had to share a small shoplot with another trader in Pasir Pinji. Later he moved his business to an old house at Lorong Menteri in Green Town, and though it was more spacious, it did not have piped water. Today Yip seems quite happy with his present location at Jalan Chung Ah Ming.
“The rent is cheap and it’s near to where I live,” he says.
And, of course, Yip has perfected his technique.
He starts working on his pieces by sketching what he wants to sculpt. Most times he is provided the visuals, which he replicates. Once this is done, Yip starts sculpting blocks of Styrofoam into the desired shape. The density of the Styrofoam he uses depends on the shape and size of his sculpture.
The blocks of Styrofoam are then pieced together using adhesive spray. Plaster or fibreglass is then used to encase the figure before painting begins. If Yip needs to replicate a finished sculpture, he will pour liquid rubber over it to make a mould. Melted fibreglass is then poured into the hardened rubber mould. It costs around RM2,000 to make something like the dragon piece outside his house, and it may take up to three weeks to finish. His customers certainly seem to be happy with his work.
Leong, a florist and banquet coordinator, stumbled upon Yip when she was sourcing for an artist to make the props for her theme banquets. Leong has since come to rely on Yip to make her roman pillars, archways, cupids, hearts and, once, even a Cinderella-styled carriage, to decorate banquet halls.
“He is brilliant in that he can do Chinese and Western themes equally well. His sculptures are very realistic, and that’s not easy to do. Sometimes I feel that he is not given due recognition in terms of his work and fees,” says Leong.
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Yip had to learn the trade through trial and error |
Kinta Properties paid Yip RM30,000 to make a blue, 3m tall crocodile teeing off on a golf course for the Bougainvillea Parade in Ipoh last January.
“I can see a lot of opportunities for such figures to be placed at tourist spots to attract more visitors. The possibilities are endless. I could replicate a car in full scale if the client so wishes and these figures need not be solely made from Styrofoam. I can do one that is entirely made up of plaster or fibreglass should a client want a permanent structure,” says Yip.
Yip’s work can be seen in shopping complexes, bridal houses, restaurants, temples and even stage productions in Ipoh.
When the Perak Society of Performing Arts staged the play Brigadoon, they too turned to Yip for their props. These included a 1.8m long bridge, two-metre high trees and a cottage complete with believable interior.
Romesh Roy, 61, the director of Brigadoon, admitted that he was initially sceptical about the use of Styrofoam because he perceived it to be brittle and flimsy. But when he tested his 90kg frame on Yip’s bridge, his doubts were dispelled.
“We used to make our props out of plywood which was hard to shape and heavy to carry. Yip’s props were light and easy to handle and that made our scene changes very easy. Yip’s the man to look for the next time PSPA stages a production,” says Roy.
Hearing all these praises makes Yip blush. He says that as long as his customers are happy, he is happy too. Yip, who runs a one-man-show, has no pretensions about being an artist. He sees what he does as something with which to earn a living.
“I didn’t even attend art school. Not that my parents (who sold tofu) were poor. In fact, the five of us were quite comfortable. I just never thought about it,” he says.
Yip is quick to point out that he is not the only one in this business in Ipoh. “There are plenty of us around but the quality of the workmanship might differ,” he says.
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Other sculptures made by Yip. |
“Every time I finish a piece, I wish I had more time to improve on it. I’d wonder, ‘What if the colour was toned down here?’ or ‘Maybe I’ve cut off too much from a certain part’ and I’d wonder what else I could have done to make the sculpture better.”
Asked whether he plans to pass his skills on to his daughter, Yip points out that she is, for now, more interested in her Game Boy.
“Maybe when she is older,” he shrugs. W
o Yip’s shop is Exquisite Art and Sign. He can be reached at 016-5620143.
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