Crafting Sustainability - Soaring Dragon

 

Commemorating the Year of the Dragon, Baremetalco founder and metal artisan Matthias Yong repurposed horseshoes once worn by Singapore Turf Club racehorses in a majestic dragon sculpture measuring 3.6m in diameter and 2.9m in height.

 

Installed in the Club's Main Lobby on 2 February 2024, the sculpture is a celebration of our rich equine heritage, embodying our steadfast commitment to sustainability and supporting local talent.

 

Matthias gave beautiful form to his vision of tenacity, versatility, renewal, and resilience, represented in the dragon’s scales forged from 338 old horseshoes. His inspiration for the sculpture came from traditional Chinese New Year paper decorations.

 

Painstakingly crafted in seven sections out of stainless steel and base raw mount steel, the dragon was sculpted using TIG welding process in Matthias’ workshop before being taken out in parts to be re-assembled where it now soars proud. This is yet further testament to the strength and adaptability of both sculptor and sculpture.

 

Matthias Yong

 

Matthias’s specialisation in hand-crafted artisan metalwork was forged in his family’s steel fabrication factory since his teenage years. He overcame dyslexia to set up Baremetalco, which works with the creative possibilities of metal fabrication to create beautiful, intricate, and functional works by hand, unlike anything seen in the sheet-metal industry. 

 

One of his stainless-steel fashion pieces earned the Best Dressed award at the 2022 Asian Academy Creative Awards. Matthias aims to create a fabrication-and-design hub, where people can build, experiment and develop their own works, leading to large-scale collaborations in future.