TEST SHOOT GALLERY (TSG) is an online gallery based in Singapore devoted to promoting new talents/artists through collaborations across various disciplines in Fashion Creative.

MADNESS has the chance to catch up with Ashburn Eng, founder and Creative Director of TSG, and talk about what inspire him and TSG works.

Bursting into the scene in September 2009 on Facebook with a mission to approach creativity without limit, it had since developed into an official site to further its development as a platform of multi-disciplinary expressions of pop culture, design, fashion and photography.

Text : MURDERFREAK / Photo : Special Thanks to Test Shoot Gallery

What do you do in TSG and what is it all about?

TSG is an online initiative to showcase young talents (mostly fashion designers for now). I conceptualize, plan, trend forecast, art direct and select the right casts and clothing. We got calls/emails about our work for TSG. People are very curious why we are doing this and there are local designers who appreciate our work and have commissioned us to provide consultation for their campaign. We avoid doing product placements. We do not have any intention to commercialise the contents. We’re very selective with who we want to collaborate with. The collaborator/designers must share the same aesthetic with TSG.

How would you define that aesthetic?

Vision. Taste. Persona.
I don’t want someone who comes forward to me with designs that doesn’t inspire or is targeting to shoot in a safe generic angle.  I am the one who comes up with the ideas.
It is also important to set a budget and the availability of the collection in Singapore. I have met a photographer who gave me POW WOW ideas but the clothes he wants are not even available here. We always have to know which collection is in Singapore so we can weave a story out of it in our work.

Do you have a planned schedule for creative output or just whenever something comes to mind?

There is no planned schedule. When  something triggers my thoughts, I would have to think about the looks and the vision for the spread before gathering the team for the shoot. I can keep inspirations in my mind for a year, until it is the right time and the right team for the project.

What would be the normal work flow when you prepare to work on something?

Planning the outlines and discuss with the team on the direction. It is usually something unexpected. Nothing is impromptu. I always make last minute changes if I feel the work can be improved.

Is every shoot self funded by the team?

Mostly by the photographers and me.

What inspire you?

I always find inspirations from my surroundings, even the texture of a fabric (the feel, sight, movement, flow of a fabric, the reaction under light, or if been burned, bleached, drenched). It is about senses and developing them into an idea. Movies, histories and art movement play a huge role too. We portray our work like different scenes in a story. One good example will be the movie 2046 by Wong Kar Wai. The setting, the mood, the feel and the cinematic effect of this movie got translated into one of my editorial work.

Another example will be of the fictional character Ophelia from Hamlet by William Shakespeare, which have inspired many visual artists to react to the scene which she drowned to her death. I found her death rather beautiful and poetic. TSG Gallery’s “Tragic Beauty” is inspired by this.

There are some amazing photography work done for local printed magazines like Harpers Bazaar and Style: I think these 2 magazines usually got the best photography work. I read mostly magazines like Glam Cult, Vogue Italia, Vogue Paris, Nylon, Numero, POP, I.D, ZINK, LOVE, DAZED N CONFUSED and I LOVE FAKE MAGAZINE. I prefer to do women’s wear where there are lesser constraints. I like the idea of role play in fashion, especially designs with genderless qualities.

Are you inspired more by darker elements and something that strike a chore with your emotion?

I am glad you see that. There is always a sinister spin to what I am doing. I am rather anti-trends as well. I am not trend driven to do something current. I do what I am inspired at the moment and what is on my mind. I enjoy adding a bit darkness to my works.

What do you think about the fashion creative scene in Singapore and the reaction to your works?

It will take time for Singapore Fashion to be part of the international platform.. We don’t have a huge market for fashion or a good based fashion culture (not many dare dress up  for any occasion.  Climate is one of the causes as well, due to the heat and humidity. A lot of designers are neglecting their designs and turning them into mass market to keep their bread and butter.

I feel designers need to create a ”topic” for people to talk about to encourage a better aesthetics movement. Designs which are avant-garde might not necessary means blow any one off their feet. I encourage designers to be more original, forward-thinking and be true to their aesthetics as well.

I think the people who appreciate our works on TSG are slightly edgier and seek differences in life.

Which fashion labels or designers locally or internationally would you recommend or are doing something that inspires you.

My current muse will be Max Tan. He is a young designer from the Singapore Fashion Incubator Project. His design is very late 90s Issey Miyake, Yoji Yamamoto, and Rei Kawakubo in a pack.

Let’s talk about one of you most recent output “Make Love Not War”. What’s the inspiration behind this effort?

Anger. I want to share the fact that the character felt lonely, jaded, neglected and is world hating. She wants world peace but sicken by the selfishness of the people worldwide.

She is confuse and fiddle about in the room, feeling trapped and yet trying to be freed.

How long did it takes to plan execute this shoot? Are there any challenges face?

It depends on the setup and everyone schedule. For example the most memorable collaboration in TSG will be Paper Couture. I noticed that there were too many unused materials piling up around the studio from spring cleaning. From the pile of discarded items, it struck me that I could work on something interesting from the cast offs.

My design assistant and I, spent two weeks conceptualizing and experimenting with the designs and materials, and another 364 hours to complete the outfits. “Each of the outfits were painstakingly put together through multiple fittings, piece by piece of recycled paper, commanding the attention to detail worthy of fashion’s best,”

One of the most challenging shoot will be the underwater shots from Tragic Beauty . We were concern about finding a good way to light up the subject underwater without ruining our equipment. It was exciting and worrying at the same time, as we know that we can’t control how the hair and makeup look and how the clothes move in the water and if the model can pose easily in water. But the shots turn out great anyway!

Check out Test Shoot Gallery : www.testshootgallery.com

Interviewed by MURDERFREAK

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