THE colonial connotations of the relationship between the East and the West are to be explored in a new exhibition by Singaporean-British artist Hannah Lim.
Drawn from her experiences as one of the few students of colour studying sculpture at Edinburgh College of Art, her work developed as she looked at how Western audiences viewed Asian art and design.
Edinburgh Printmakers is to host the first solo exhibition in Scotland by Lim, whose vibrant artworks have already captured the attention of audiences worldwide ahead of further shows in New York and Milan later this year.
She is working in printmaking for the first time as she continues her exploration of East and South East Asian culture and its appropriation for Western audiences.
“As a person of mixed Singaporean and British heritage, both my research and practice has come to engage with the colonial connotations of the relationship between the East and the West,” said Lim.
“These connotations are most evident in themes such as Orientalism and its relationship to Chinoiserie; an 18th-century aesthetic trend in which elements of Chinese design were recreated in relation to European aesthetics and tastes. I attempt to re-imagine and reclaim ideas and designs associated with Chinoiserie, which have in the past had problematic colonial undertones. Cultural designs are shared as opposed to appropriated – it is no longer about one culture being moulded to the demands of another.”
Her research for the new exhibition involved looking at a range of Chinese literature focused on enchanted creatures and objects and mythical storytelling.
“This whole avenue of research ultimately evolved from exploring my Chinese-Singaporean family’s relationship with Christianity and how that has impacted my understanding and exposure to certain aspects of Chinese culture – over time it has evolved into something more playful and peculiar,” Lim said.
Curator Tiffany Boyle of Edinburgh Printmakers added: “As an organisation dedicated to both making and exhibiting, it has been really exciting for us to see Hannah create work in print for the first time, with a lot of synergy between her mark-making in drawing and etching.
“The work produced for the show also highlights the facilities available in our digitals studio, such as laser-cutting. It’s really significant to Edinburgh Printmakers to give time and space to emerging artists to sustain their practice, introduce them to printmaking methods and facilitate experimentation.”
The new solo show will run from September 29 until November 20.
