However, when I met Mr Wilfred Cheah for the first time, he surprised me with his chatty demeanour, as he proudly showed me his latest creation: A miniature version of his childhood home.
Despite having no prior experience in miniature crafting, the Covid-19 pandemic gave Mr Cheah the perfect timing to retire after 28 years, to unleash his creative streak. In an interview with him at his exhibition on Wednesday , he told me that he decided on creating miniature art because he had always"liked arts and crafts".
Pointing out the miniature model of the Toa Payoh dragon playground, he added:"Take this playground for example, I put in the childhood games that we played because back then, we played outside but it is very different for the children of today who no longer go out to play." Since starting out, Mr Cheah has made over 100 artworks from the small corner of his dining table in his 3-room condominium in Bishan."Sometimes I use cardboard, styrofoam, wooden chopsticks, straws, plastic packaging," he said.
He found that throughout his creative process, there will always be mistakes but he realised that things got easier when he was willing to accept and learn from them.