My Weekend

Singaporean photographer John Clang lives in New York with his wife.
Singaporean photographer John Clang lives in New York with his wife. PHOTO: LASALLE

New York-based Singaporean photographer John Clang was awarded the Designer of the Year award at the annual President's Design Award in 2010.

He has shot international advertising campaigns for brands such as Nike, Hermes and Reebok and has had his works displayed at the National Museum of Singapore and other galleries around the world.

A series he shot in 2002, Fear Of Losing The Existence, is on display at upscale New York department store Bergdorf Goodman's windows. It is part of a partnership between the New York retailer and the Singapore Tourism Board in celebration of Singapore's 50th anniversary, and will be on display until Tuesday.

The 42-year-old photographer moved to New York in 1999 and lives in downtown Manhattan with his wife Elin Tew, 41, who is also his studio producer. The couple have no children.

What are your weekends like?Weekends consist of having dinner and brunch with my friends and leaving Sunday free for brunch with my wife. On Saturday afternoons, though, I do a bit of aimless walking while my housekeeper cleans the house.

I also play table tennis on alternate days. The more normal things I do, the more inspiration I get.

I recently started to play poker illegally. Not for the thrill, but to observe. It is amazing how some places that are unassumingly quiet at night can open up different opportunities for observations. You just have to know which doors to knock on.

Do you visit art exhibitions in your free time?

On the weekends, I usually don't go to art exhibitions because of how crowded they get. I normally go on weekdays.

What is your favourite thing to do for leisure?

Everything that I like. I never do stuff that I don't like, so I don't have a favourite. It's just the culmination of different things that makes my weekends special.

Do you prefer spending time alone with your wife or around friends?

I'm more of an introvert. My wife says I'm an indoor plant. I'm someone who needs very little light and water.

I hang out with my friends only when I really like them and not to socialise and do public relations because I believe in doing only things that I enjoy.

So yes, I do enjoy spending more time alone with my wife.

What do you plan on doing during your stay in Singapore?

I'm going to have a nice breakfast, play some table tennis and most likely head to Delifrance as I've not eaten there in many years.

I'll also be heading to Tiong Bahru to have lor mee, which is my wife's favourite dish. I used to surprise her with it on the weekends, going home with lor mee for her to wake up to. To be frank, I'm not a big fan. I just like to eat it with her.

What would constitute a perfect end to the week?

Honestly, any day is a weekend when you're doing something you love.

You've just got to live your life and decide the time to spend on doing what you want to do, rather than what you have to do. Every day can be the perfect weekend if you make it so.

Omar Muhammad Amir

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 02, 2015, with the headline My Weekend. Subscribe