Share Article
Studio Tours - Lydia Yang (Oak & Bindi)
Hailing from just off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and 85 miles north of the equator, our latest Studio Tour explores the mind and design space of Singapore based illustrator Lydia Yang, or more commonly known as Oak & Bindi. Having enjoyed watching Lydia's work develop across paintings, book illustrations, posters and large scale wall murals we decided it was about time we found out more about the Temasek Polytechnic's Design School graduates influences both in and outside of design. Luckily for us, Lydia opened the doors to her studio with welcome arms and unveiled a treasure cove of 90's nostalgia that had us beaming with *open heart eyes*... ----------- What's the significance of Oak & Bindi? Oak & Bindi was a name I put together when I started out doing art as a teen, inspired by the many ~cool & indie~ art/fashion bloggers at that point in time, I wanted my own so I picked two of my favourite words and put them together. Bindi was actually derived from the name of Steve Irwin's daughter and Oak is really just the wood. I've stuck with the name ever since. What are your earliest memories of creating? I remember having many VCDs of Walt Disney films like Snow White and Bambi, I'd reference the cover art when I wanted something to draw for practice. I also remember making a handful of hardcore birthday cards with drawings, weird cut-outs, and elevated stuff those were fun to make I would spend hours perfecting each one. Aesthetically you can see inspirations from old Fleischer Studios cartoons in some of your work yet it still retains it's own identity and is only the tip of your illustrative style. How would you best describe your work? I guess my work is pretty graphic and loud, I prefer bold lines to sketchy ones and I always consider how it looks visually from afar. I draw content from 90s cartoons and films I used to watch as a kid and tend to mix it up with junk food and street trends. I'd always finish off with some form of customised hand lettering, paired with exclamations and interjections to complete the piece. What inspires you on a day to day basis? For me it's probably doing one different or new thing everyday. I tend to get bored easily and I dread routine like most artists so I'm always looking for something to do next. It could be anything from listening to a new house track or even buying something like a new shirt. Instagram and Tumblr are my main go-tos when I need to look for new visual content. Where is your studio / work space based? It's based in Singapore and I work from home at the moment, but am out most of the time for meetings and to paint walls. How would you describe the creative community in Singapore? There are a handful of collectives and groups from illustration to street art crews, it's definitely growing and a lot more brands are involving local art as part of their marketing or event activation as well, which helps to drive and build the creative scene. The city life brings about different subjects in the way art is expressed here as well. 
Your work allows you to create on various mediums from large scale murals to zine covers to type based menu boards. What projects are more preferable for you to work on? I love working on custom pieces like hand-painted wooden signages, personalised skate decks and toy customs. Wood is my favourite canvas to paint on, which is probably why I chose the word Oak in Oak & Bindi as well. What other projects are you currently working on? I've been working on a couple of mural drafts and recently just finished an illustration piece for a local magazine. Do you have a piece of work you've created which stands out as a favourite to you? My favourite piece is a customised Chip & Dale vinyl toy I put together for an art exhibition last year. 
What would be your dream project to work on? I'd love to have my own art exhibition/space; I would curate the crap out of everything from the glass window display to the lighting to the alcohol hahaha. Or it would be amazing to collaborate with my favourite brand or artist as well. Where can we find more about you and your work? You can follow me on Instagram @oakandbindi or visit my website at http://cargocollective.com/oakandbindi. Thanks for having us Lydia!
