Is trash meant to be thrown away? Yes, for many of us, it is. Wilfred Cheah, on the other hand, decides to put it to better use by making miniature models.
Written By Tan Jia Lin
Photos by Wilfred Cheah
Wilfred Cheah, 57 years old, has been a full-time miniature artist for three years since June 2020.
He has been interested in art since he was a child and had plans to pursue a career in the field. Unfortunately, while he was taking his “O” Levels, he did not fare well, so he enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) as a regular.
Wilfred, however, could not let go of his passion for art. He made the decision to leave the SAF after eight years, took up interior design classes, and worked as a full-time interior designer for the next 28 years.
When the Coronavirus disease started in late 2019, he had a lot of spare time. That was when his old hobby of creating miniature models rekindled.
The Creation Of Each Miniature Model
Wilfred has built many miniature models, such as factories, houses, landmarks, schools and even hawker stalls.
He prefers different materials depending on what he is working on. He often uses transparent plastic for windows, plastic straws for pipes or circular pillars and compressed foam boards for large buildings with straight wall edges.
"I usually get my foam boards from restaurants because they always throw it away at the end of the day," Wilfred says. "People usually watch YouTube tutorials to gain inspiration on which scrap materials to use. I prefer to experiment on my own with various materials instead. If a material fails, I will try something else. I enjoy learning as I go.”
Taking “learning as I go” to the next level, one of the most unusual ways Wilfred discovered one of his materials was while preparing his lunch.
“I was cracking an egg into my boiled instant noodles and realised that it had the perfect shape to symbolise a helmet for a military model I was working on,” he explains.
Wilfred takes a significant amount of effort and time to complete a project because he creates models from scratch. The majority of his projects take at least two weeks to complete. However, as each model is unique, the methods he employs will vary depending on the model, leading to a different time frame taken to finish it.
His Struggles And Progressions
"Being an artist is never easy, especially in Singapore," Wilfred explains. His income decreased dramatically as a result of his change in career, nearly halving from his previous salary as a interior designer.
“Being a miniature artist is not widely known or seen in Singapore, many of my early clients were unaware of the amount of taxing hard work that went into each model and expected my models to be sold cheaply or even for free,” he adds.
But, as the saying goes, “hard work always pays off”.
More people began to approach Wilfred for his work. His early clients were often individuals looking to make something tangible out of their childhood or fond memories. More corporations are approaching him now, one of which requested a physical model of their previous factory to be showcased during their anniversary celebration. Wilfred's works are currently in high demand with a project waitlist that extends until June 2023.
Being able to turn common trash into valuable and intricate figurines clearly demonstrates the mark of a true artist.
"My best advice is to never give up. When it comes to building a model, there will be a lot of trial and error. As long as you persevere and finish it, you will learn and improve from there,” Wilfred says. Despite having no formal background in design, he continues to work towards his passion for art to this day.