Zavier Wong Zhen Rui (1993) is a Singapore born maker, artist, designer and thinker based in The Netherlands. Following his move to study at the Design Academy Eindhoven, he graduated under his tutor, the Spanish artist Nacho Carbonell. Establishing his practice in 2021, he has been honing his craft skills as a metalworker at Studio Job while working on exciting projects as part of his individual practice.

He likes to see himself as someone “gardening in an industrial wilderness.” He sees value in the discarded, defective, or generic, redeeming materials, techniques that have been lost and found again. Wong enjoys “tinkering” with a range of materials and processes, but is particularly drawn to those that are seen as imperfect, unwanted, or useless. He views this perceived weakness as an invitation to transform them, but also the viewer. As he “negotiates” with his materials, he gives them value and a voice. He offers the viewer a new way to see and experience the material: as perfect, wanted, and useful.

Through the process of reflecting and experimenting with different ways to work with materials, new ways of experiencing materials emerge. It’s a ‘negotiation’ process with the material of sorts - at first reflecting on the qualities the material presents in relation to our perception of it - and then giving it form and bringing it to life. Through this relationship with materials and the process, he hopes to create a sense of wonder and beauty for people and move them in ways unexplainable.