Japanese paper arts are world-famous, as are the raw materials themselves. Think delicate origami figurines and exquisite sheets of washi, or Japanese paper. Paper quilling, on the other hand, has its origins in the convents of medieval France and Italy where resourceful nuns tried to come up with ways to decorate religious objects. Here, East meets west as Japanese quilling artist Yasuko Nakashima turns strips of coloured paper into stunning 3D designs.
Japanese paper arts are world-famous, as are the raw materials themselves. Think delicate origami figurines and exquisite sheets of washi, or Japanese paper. Paper quilling, on the other hand, has its origins in the convents of medieval France and Italy where resourceful nuns tried to come up with ways to decorate religious objects. Here, East meets west as Japanese quilling artist Yasuko Nakashima turns strips of coloured paper into stunning 3D designs.
Nakashima-san’s first encounter with paper quilling was through the invitation of one of her son’s classmate’s mothers. Then a housewife, Nakashima-san went along because she was told that the activity was “kind of interesting”. Fortunately, she found that she enjoyed quilling for its similarities to drawing, which has been a hobby of hers since childhood. 13 years on, Nakashima-san is a prolific quilling artist in addition to her day job at a media company. She also teaches quilling classes, which she started on the recommendation of her own quilling teacher.
Japanese quilling v.s. Singapore?
By her own admission, most Japanese quilling tends to feature botanical motifs, and Nakashima-san herself has created her fair share of quilled flowers and plants. Instead, what sets her work apart from that of her countrymen is her focus on Singaporean motifs. In recent years, much of Nakashima-san’s work has incorporated Singaporean themes, partly to preserve her memories of the tropical island, and also to express her love for her adoptive country.
Peranakan motifs, with their vibrant colors, are also a firm favorite with the artist. Compared to the subdued hues of most quilling pieces in Japan, Peranakan tableware and tiles provide a welcome pop of lively color. Nevertheless, Nakashima-san tells us that her first Singapore-themed piece was a Merlion, and her favorite is one that she did of the Marina Bay area featuring the Singapore Flyer in the days before Marina Bay Sands was built.
Came with no plans to stay
Nakashima-san’s love for Singapore is evident as she talks about the various sights and sceneries of the Little Red Dot that she has preserved in her quilling pieces. It is a huge shock then, when she lets on that when she first came to Singapore 17 years ago, she and her family had no plans to stay for the long term. In fact, she confides, they were planning to leave once her elder son reached school age. For someone who been around long enough to see the island transform rapidly over the past two decades, that is certainly surprising.
What Nakashima-san credits with keeping her family in Singapore is the country’s amazing childrearing environment. Even though her kids are much older now, she still recounts with fondness how she was pleasantly surprised when locals would give up their seats to her on public transit if she had a toddler or infant with her. Japanese products are even easier to obtain now than they were when she first arrived, giving Nakashima-san and her family even less reason to leave.
Paper memories
With almost twenty years in Singapore, Nakashima-san should have a huge wealth of Singapore-related inspiration for her quilling. Indeed, she does – her memories are her main source of inspiration. This is apparent in her work, a huge portion of which consists of recreations of famous spots in Singapore such as the Zoo and Night Safari. As for the most memorable, she points to a Singapore River Cruise bumboat immortalized in paper form.
For Nakashima-san’s expat students, these paper memories are what they receive from her as a final gift before leaving Singapore. Since most of her students end up leaving Singapore to return to Japan, she tries to make a Singapore-inspired piece for each of them, in the hope that like her, they too will have a quilled piece of Singapore to cherish.
For those who are interested in paper quilling and Nakashima-san’s Singapore experience, she will be teaching basic quilling at Akadot Experience Pop-up, taking place at *SCAPE on 23rd – 25th April 2021.
About the author
Translator, writer, and all-around multilingual person.
Always on the lookout for interesting people and projects in Japanese/English/Chinese.
人間という謎は言葉で解いています。
日・英・中という三ヶ国語で「おもろさ」を常に探っています。
立命館産業社会学部卒、スタンフォード大学院東アジア研究修士課程修了。
A filmmaker who documents Japanese-Singapore stories.
When not on set or editing, I'm likely to be watching Japanese TV & movies while munching on Calbee's seaweed chips.
Akadot TVの映像撮影&編集・全体プロデュースを行っています！
日本語歴18年、東京大学文学部卒の100%シンガポール人。
最近の好きな映画は菅田将暉主演の『糸』。
