Nathan Yong’s stainless steel works are relaxing yet inviting

Valued for its durability, low maintenance, and flexibility, stainless steel is perhaps a ubiquitous material. But in the hands of Nathan Yong, it becomes a thoughtful metaphor for cultural identity and social displacement.

Coinciding with this year’s edition of Singapore Design Week, Being and Nothingness – A Discourse on Identity is the Singaporean designer’s latest salvo in a career-long examination of the delicate relationship between art, industrial design and social dysfunction.

Nathan Yong’s “Being and Nothingness – A Discourse on Identity”

(Image credit: Nathan Yong Design)

Yong wanted to work with stainless steel precisely because it is ubiquitous as a building material in Singapore. “We use it as a sidewalk railing.” “It can be found in our MRT subway stations and even in our hawker centers,” he says, explaining that city planners use the material for its efficiency, color neutrality and resistance to scratches and scratches Appreciate stains.

Yong – who counts Donald Judd and Dan Flavin among the pole stars of design – only belatedly realized that the same qualities can also be found in the Singaporean psyche; He half-jokingly points out that “we are clean, efficient, easy to maintain and able to adapt to our environment.” In fact, we are a society that has modernized rapidly. I feel like this has led to a loss of individuality.”

(Image credit: Nathan Yong Design)

The current home furniture collection emerged from this observation. Comprised of 11 everyday pieces ranging from a sofa, a standing umbrella and a vase to a lounger, a chair and a bar stool – each made from highly polished 304 grade stainless steel – “Being and Nothingness” is superb in its combination of straightforwardness tactile and curved lines; familiar in silhouette while the expression is somewhat alien.

(Image credit: Nathan Yong Design)

“What interests me here is the interplay between stainless steel’s reflective properties and its inherent lack of warmth, and how that in turn challenges us to seek a balance between efficiency and human connection, between order and individuality.”

Interestingly, Yong says that while his intention was to analyze the bland homogenization of a culture, the process of creating the collection was difficult and nuanced. Working with a family of metalsmiths in northern Malaysia, the immediate challenge was to find the right thickness so that the sheets were structurally strong rather than flimsy, while still remaining visually light. These then had to be carefully ground to create the welded joints before each finished piece was finally hand polished to a mirror finish.

(Image credit: Nathan Yong Design)

More than fascinating Objects of the houseYong, who is currently working on a new home brand called Nathan Home, hopes his new collection invites a degree of introspection, particularly in the context of the material’s public urban provenance, recently transplanted into the private space of a home. “A chair is inviting and relaxing at the same time,” he says, perhaps thinking of the tubular, beautifully awkward chair. “Item no. 1′.

It remains to be seen whether the average furniture lover will achieve the level of introspection Yong demands when it comes to a chair or bar stool—even one as austerely designed as he is—but if nothing else, you’ll look good in the process.

(Image credit: Nathan Yong Design)

“Nothingness – A Discourse on Identity” is on view at the Art Commune Gallery until October 16, 2024. www.artcommune.com.sg. The collection is also available in limited editions of one, three, five, eight and ten copies at the gallery. Prices start at S$7,000. nathanyongdesign.com