He had long been toying with the idea of creating figurines and after many trials and errors, he came up with a cute cat he named Yuurei Neko Sama.

Speaking with FMT Lifestyle recently, he explained that the literal translation for Yuurei Neko Sama is Mr Ghost Cat.

“I chose a cat as the base because I have three pet cats. From there, I combined it with the Yokai, the Japanese spirit or ghost concept, in a cute way and Neko Sama was the result,” he said, adding that the ghost cat came to life seven years ago.

Still, making money off Yuurei Neko Sama was tough. He recalled how he excitedly brought 50 figurines of the ghost cat to Taiwan for his first ever event but managed to sell only one, and to a friend at that!

Downcast, he gave away most of the figurines to other friends and designers, allowing them to customise them if they so wished.

A graphic design graduate, Chuah said he initially dreamed of becoming a comic book artist.

He said his parents played a big role in his decision as they were huge comic book fans themselves. They used to buy him comic books almost every week when he was a kid, he said, and soon, he too was hooked on them.

He worked as a comics artist at a local publishing company, where he produced multiple original comic ideas that he later became famous for. This included the Gengkey series, the first comic in Malaysia with a vinyl figurine, and Komik Uncle Loong.

While he enjoyed an illustrious career in the comic book world, he didn’t like the pressure associated with the job.

“I loved my job but it meant wearing a lot of hats. It’s like directing a movie where you have to do everything from costumes, lighting to props and set design. It was too much so I decided to switch paths.”

Just as his interest in comic books spurred him to become an artist initially, his interest in buying and collecting figurines led him to design his very own two decades later.

It was a rocky start, but he kept at it and eventually the character of Yuurei Neko Sama materialised. Soon he was designing more varieties of Neko Sama, with the Daruma doll style, a symbol of luck and happiness in Japan, becoming a hit.

To give his beloved ghost cat a companion, he created Froggy. Together, they’ve made quite an impression in local and overseas exhibitions, including in Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore.

During the pandemic, he learnt watercolour painting and self-published a few artbooks on watercolours. To his surprise, sales were good.

“I also completed a children’s book last year, which was something I have wanted to do for 10 years. It is about Neko Sama and his friends in Daruma doll form.”

Currently stationed in his new gallery space in GMBB, Chuah has debuted a new collection called “Hello World” to celebrate the gallery’s opening.

The “Hello World” series with titles such as “Comfort zone”, “It’s ok not to be ok” and “First step,” features Yurrei Neko Sama in everyday situations and facing everyday dilemmas.

“I wanted to paint something that people can relate to. And I wanted to have conversations with them about how they interpreted the pictures. In fact, I was having conversations with myself and self-reflecting while I was painting them.”

Chuah said he wanted to create more paintings that speak to people and tell a story.

“Back then I was customising works for my clients. Now I can paint what I want to,” he said, smiling.

Follow Michael Chuah on Instagram and Facebook; or head to his website here.