Exhibitions

John Lim’s series ‘Pink Swing’ evokes a self-relevant narrative of the artist’s Malaysian Heritage, depicting a personal meditation upon the concept of home, our relationships, and how this environment informs our aesthetic sensibilities. This series presents a personal episodic account of cultural signifiers in both Penang and Melbourne.

My practice is based upon my personal meditation on the idea of home. Symbols, shapes, colours and objects incorporated into my work are inspired by simplicity, conjoined with a profound depth of history, ingrained from my childhood experience at my grandparents' petit house in Penang, Malaysia. It was this and the vast difference in the visual aesthetic of public spaces in Australia and Malaysia that sparked my interest. Ultimately, the work explores this contrast; the neglect and deterioration of community facilities in my hometown compared to the rather pristine conditions in Australia.

Through the notion of hinting, the drawing of the figure’s facial expression plays with wording with the title of the work. From the vague, disquieting state of affairs and a sense of individuality is combined in an abrupt manner. Using the method of expression – the process of hinting becomes evident through momentary misreading’s that occur as part of everyday life, dreams and fragments of memory. Images such as different structures sprouting out of a single human face, symbol inundating city life and inexplicable scenes as if one is dreaming appear repeatedly. 

Dregs and debt is a Melbourne based publication invested in showcasing and representing emerging visual artists who are finding their place within the Melbourne Art Scene. In this first edition of Dregs and Debts, what is presented is a decadent morsel of some of the latest works from 16 artist's collections. Within these pages, you, the viewer, will be introduced to each artist's sentiments, style and a hint of their aesthetic and conceptual qualities, in both the art presented and page design.

Responding to Chris Marker’s film “Sans Soleil”, which posits through his audiovisual motif that the remembrance of old memories can trigger a scar. These scars of memory are of the things that quicken the heart, and perhaps the only ‘existing’ memories we have left of the past. It can be suggested that the identity of scars is representative of our suppressed inner disposition.