Gouache

Termination

But I never stopped wondering how it'd be
to be sectioned out into bits of flesh and blood
a powerful vacuum to void me
of identity
Would my star of hands still reach out for that hope
I never see after these years?

I could have been the brother
I almost had

I might have preferred that

From A Neo Hippie

I'd never be the mother of all your unborn children
I don't want to nurture your spirit
I'm never careful with feelings
I will never love you
I'd never be with you
I'd grow more ambiguous with each passing day,
you might have to get new mirrors all the time

but I will bring your heart somewhere freedom has never gone
I will paint you the unseen splendor your money cannot buy
I will give you more space than Mother Nature has rented out to you

And you can lose yourself in what
has been known but never seen

From Bags to Riches

An amusing thing about the French label, Louis Vuitton, is how it challenges you to figure out what aspect of business is it they do best when you step into their flagship store in ION Orchard. Yes, there’s their classic line of luxurious leather monogram bags. Then there’s the exquisite collection of prêt-a-porter. But there’s also the intricate architecture and dignified structure of their largest boutique in South East Asia that closes you off from the outside world and introduces you to a place that encapsulates only the Louis Vuitton ardor. The handsome interior and rich layout of the store garners enough attention to cast aside their reputation as a fashion power house, albeit temporarily.

That’s when the disorientation set in.

How did an extravagant brand acclaimed for its leather bags morph into conglomerate of architecture, design and fashion?

Louis Vuitton: A Passion for Creation, the exhibition presented in the Hong Kong Museum of Art from 22 May – 9 August 2009, answers that, chronicling the Louis Vuitton sartorial finery and the bold punctuations its stores and styles has created world wide.

Started in the mid 19th century as a retailer of luggage, it incorporated fashion and durability etched with its omnipresent LV symbol into each trunk and bag. On display are trunks from the 19th century made for aristocrats as artifacts. When exploration and voyages transpired in that era, Louis Vuitton was meticulous that his creations endured travels by the sea and rail and of course, time.

A predilection for a vogue sybarite, Louis Vuitton can come across as unattainable and possibly archaic, but with its induction of American designer, Marc Jacobs as its Creative Director in 1997, collaborations with contemporary Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami and designer Stephen Sprouse (remember cherry blossoms and the words “Louis Vuitton” in scrawl?) brought about a mélange of graffiti and popular art into fashion and design.

In 2006, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy appointed famed Canadian-American architect, Frank Gehry to design the Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation, a museum in Paris. The 127 million dollar project is an etch of their foray into contemporary design.

From its days as a leather and luggage connoisseur, the Louis Vuitton corporation is altruistic to venture into architecture, prêt-a-porter and books today, stamping an artistic presence in the world as prominent as its monogram itself.

Well, till the Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation is completed, let’s just head down to the flagship store in ION Orchard.

Who We Flew to Hong Kong For

The Librarian

She met him when he could have been proud of his job but green wasn't his colour
Could he think
of other shades of emerald that would have flattered him better
Did he even care

She stood there and tried to look surprised
He knew it was a planned accident and saved
her the embarrassment by looking surprised too

"How are you?" she asked
The volume of books spoke louder than her own
His pause was printed on every page of collection on that level

"Fine," he said to the spine of an errant book

She looked at him
knowing in his eyes she will find a man who only looks forward
and not at bookmarks of his past, like how she stood there as one
wondering which page of his biography she belonged to