GCE ‘A’ Level dropout founded S'pore cybersecurity startup watchTowr that raises US$10.25m in 9 monthsBurly and in his signature outfit of cap, loose T-shirt jeans, and sneakers, he is friendly, with an alert gaze and a quiet energy despite the weather that was “ a little bit although I’m getting more acclimated every day”.
It would surely have delighted him, then, to know that almost all of the work he created at Void Deck’s Mandai studio, was snapped up within four days. The two highest priced pieces — Botanic Gardens and Beauty World — sold for S$30,000 each. The most affordable, Red Dot, 2022, Singapore went for S$1,000 a pop. Only the Indigo series remains, as of 5 August.
I’ve realised how to use my creativity as a painter doing graphics and learning graphic language, and then translating that onto T-shirts and other apparel to figure out how to get paid and make ends meet. And, oh my gosh, now I'm a graphic artist. I didn't see because I was a graffiti artist, and I didn't realise that was a whole other world unto itself.What do you want to do next?
You dabbled with NFTs last year on NFT trading platform 5th Dimension. What are your thoughts on them? Overall, I’m indifferent. I’m ok with it. It's the same to me: I've gone from vinyl to cassette to CD to mini CD. I've watched technology advance, and I understand there's a place for it. Do I still use an old CD player? Yes. Sometimes. So, I'm still not there yet. I respect and understand it, and I'm completely open to it.
I've learned how to market myself, and I've learned how to utilise all the skills and tools that I've trained myself with to translate them into things that I can commodify. That's a gift. It took a long time to acquire. It wasn't a sudden occurrence. I went through a lot of ups and downs, like all of us do.