Currently based in Hong Kong, Bob See Jun Hong 薛竣鴻 was born in Singapore in 1995. He earned his BA in Product design in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University after receiving a Diploma in product and industrial design in Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore.
Bob is a practising designer and his work has been awarded and featured in numerous local and international exhibitions. He recently won the Champion of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Ginny Man Chinese Cultural & Creativity Prize 2022. He is currently holding a research assistant role in a university and also working on his own product design startup while producing lacquerware on his free time as an outlet for more creative concepts.
Bob incorporates his artistic visions into his design work, while also exploring usability in his art forms, often thinking of how one can interact with an art piece both physically and visually to achieve satisfaction or purpose. Creating with lacquer fitted this desire of duality, as a medium that is both functional and with high aesthetic potential.
His first experience with lacquer was when he broke some antique plates, while mending the plates he was challenged by the material and read deeply about it. He sees lacquer as a method to accentuate properties of existing material and artistic forms, like bringing out the delicate rings of piece of wood out and protecting it with the durability of the lacquer. “Every item is completed with the lacquer with a purpose, where all the materials complement each other.”
Portable Tea Caddy by SEE Jun Hong Bob
The oldest lacquerware discovered dates back to the Warring States period (403-221 B.C.). the craft has been transferred to Japan, Korea, and other parts of Southeast Asia. The value of a piece of lacquerware only begins with the materials used to make it. A high quality piece of lacquerware requires the skills of several different elements: lacquer, layers, core materials, decoration, colours, design and process.