If you are looking for a warm fuzzy story about how he fell in love with art because of an inspiring teacher when he was a kid, or finger painting sessions with his parents on rainy Saturday mornings, look elsewhere.
Nick Siau, better known as Nemo in the music scene, really only noticed art a few years ago, when he was in his early 20s. It started with the rapper setting out to look for artwork to go with his debut album and stumbling upon contemporary artist Ajim Juxta’s works online, liking what he saw and then meeting him at an art bazaar where he “almost bought his whole sketchbook”.
“It wasn’t for sale, but I managed to get a sketch of a human heart. Not super detailed, almost like a doodle, and layered with coffee and blood from Ajim biting his lip.
"This is the first artwork I bought and I always have it with me, either on the wall or in my paper art folder which I always have near me. I will never sell it or lose it,” he says.
Since then, Nemo has been obsessed with art and visual culture, not just in the traditional painting-on-the-wall way, but through more accessible – and affordable – mediums such as limited edition prints, art toys, photographs and offbeat furniture.
Art was never a part of his life when he was growing up. The family house, he says, is designed around functionality and not aesthetics.
"No exaggeration, life changed for me once I became aware about art. I started to see art everywhere – buildings, road design, websites, faces, oh my gosh, everything was art!” says the 27-year-old.
Art beyond the galleries
So inspired was Nemo that in 2018, he started Papu Store with his artist friend Muhammad Zuber Sunario (aka Otakzuber), at Publika in Kuala Lumpur. This was a collaboration with art collective Titikmerah.
It was a fun, but short-lived run, and the "kedai art" shop was put on hold through 2019 and 2020.
“Papu is one-of-a-kind for sure, we have gallery-quality work from all kinds of artists, toys and furniture. I have some Pokemon cards and comics too. I don’t know if this is a case of terrible brand identity, but in my head it is just a super eclectic art store,” says Nemo.
He adds the shop's door was always open to all kinds of customers, especially newcomers to art.
"The pandemic might have changed attitudes in the art scene, but I do recall a time when some gallerists will look at you weirdly if you visited an exhibition and didn't look like an art collector. Nobody likes walking into a gallery and being judged, but it tends to happen in some galleries in KL. Now that they have been shut for so long, I hope these galleries are more welcoming," says Nemo.
The last thing he wants is for Papu to feel like an art gallery. Not that it has ever looked like one, though.
“I want it to feel like anyone can come in and just have a conversation. I was practically at the shop all day, every day, so a random conversation a day is really awesome, you know? I used to be in the music scene so my friends came over to jam too,” he says.
Planning the next move
After the hiatus, Nemo decided to reopen Papu earlier this year when he came across some items from the shop that were in storage, and felt like he just had to give it another shot.
The pop-up shop was called Titikmerah x Papu, situated at Publika's Art Row.
In the last 18 months, the Titikmerah collective has hardly utilised its studio space in Taman Tun in Kuala Lumpur. Ajim, who runs the studio and gallery there, reveals that exhibitions have been difficult to organise, especially with the various lockdowns.
"The Titikmerah x Papu shop was an ideal (temporary) solution to keep artists busy working and to give them a 'shop window' in a public area. At the moment, the (pandemic) obstacles can break anybody's spirit.
"Artists are no less vulnerable in these uncertain times. If you don't have a big gallery safety net, you need to connect with independent art communities and people willing to try out new ways to get art to the masses," says Ajim.
Early this year, the Titikmerah x Papu pop-up managed a running start.
“I enjoyed an extremely successful two months. But then the number of Covid-19 cases went up in the area and since then we have been closed. I have only sold two paintings since May. Our lease ended in July and we are now an online-only store, but I am fully occupied with big plans that will be coming your way soon,” says Nemo.
Papu's recent run might have been shortlived, but as an "art retail" outfit, Titikmerah x Papu did feature over 30 local artists coming from diverse backgrounds.
Before Titikmerah x Papu shut, it could boast works – sketches and paintings to prints and toys – from Ajim, Hamir Soib, Shafiq Nordin, Latif Maulan, Donald Abraham, Kangblabla, Adeputra Masri and Harris Ribut.
"I met Harris and found out more about the artist colony scene in Conlay (Kuala Lumpur). It was amazing that such a veteran wanted to have his art sold in a pop-up art store. Adeputra also didn't have any problems sending us some of his paintings.
"There is only so much space in a pop-up store, but we tried our best. Then the lockdown arrived, walk-ins had to stop and we opted to shut," says Nemo.
Talk has it that a new physical store – or maybe even stores – are in the pipeline.
“I really hope I get to do this... to add a 'different' dynamic to the art scene. No grand exhibition statements. Instead to build a platform to give local cool art a new audience. But with how things are right now, I just hope I don’t end up sleeping on the streets!” he says.
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