EDUCATION KIT | ARTIST FOLIOS
H.H. LIM
MALAYSIA / ITALY
Enter the Parallel World,
2001, 2016
H.H. LIM
Enter the Parallel World, 2001, 2016
EDUCATION KIT
ARTIST FOLIOS
THE ARTIST
THE IDEA
H.H. Lim (b. 1954, Kedah, Malaysia) grew up in Penang,
Having practised Art in Rome, H.H. Lim continues to be
Malaysia and later graduated from the Academy of
influenced by the city’s energy. He often takes inspiration
Fine Arts in Rome. Since 1976, he has lived and worked
from daily life and incorporates this into his artworks;
between Penang and Rome; in the latter, he founded in
elements are at times adapted and refined, resulting in
1990 the artist space Edicola Notte, which has been one
them taking on new meanings. Originally titled 60kg
of the most dynamic contemporary art spaces in Rome.
circa di sagezza, the video performance of Lim trying to
Lim’s work is based on the investigation of different media
balance on a basketball was conceived in 2001 and has
and themes, and he has had exhibitions at galleries and
been presented differently in various exhibitions. It is
museums such as the Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art
now considered one of Lim’s most iconic performances
(Beijing, 2010), National Gallery of Modern Art (Rome,
and his later works are often compared to it. He believes
2011) and the Venice Biennale (2013).
that “artists are missionaries, and we are the testimony
of what is happening in our time, that the showing of
ideas is like a calling, a mission, and that he is in need of
a public, an audience, to enliven the artwork, as visitors
animate the artwork or dead spaces”.
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H.H. LIM
Enter the Parallel World, 2001, 2016
THE ARTWORK
2-channel video
Dimensions variable
Collection of the Artist
Singapore Biennale 2016 commission
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ARTIST FOLIOS
Image courtesy of Singapore Art Museum
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OBSERVE AND DISCOVER
GUIDING QUESTIONS
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
1. Enter the Parallel World consists of two single-channel
A. Performance Art usually consists of four elements:
videos on two screens separated by a passageway.
time, space, the artist’s body, and the relationship
Before reading the wall text, watch both videos for at
between the artist and audience. Think about
least 3 minutes.
H.H. Lim’s artwork and how it engages these four
elements. Pen down your thoughts and share them
2. The two videos are titled About 60 kilos of wisdom
with your friends or family.
and The falling wisdom respectively. Make a guess –
which title belongs to which video? What makes you
H.H. LIM
Enter the Parallel World,
2011, 2016
think so?
B. Learning to balance has always been a rite of
passage in one’s life (from standing to cycling to
balancing on a kerb). Do you have any unfulfilled
3. The title of both video performances contain the word
“wisdom”. What knowledge and experience do you
childhood activity that involves the physical act of
balancing? Try attempting it again.
think the artist gained from making these artworks?
C. Think of a situation in which you have difficulty
4. The artwork is titled Enter the parallel world. How
achieving balance. What actions might you take or
does the content and siting of the artwork highlight
what changes could you make to help you achieve
the parallel world suggested?
equilibrium?
5. Performance art such as H.H. Lim’s Enter the Parallel
World is a relatively new form of art. What questions
would you ask the artist about his artistic practice?
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FIND OUT MORE
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
INTERVIEW
H.H. Lim. Retrieved August 3, 2016, from
Staff writer. (2011, April 20). Asia realising art part
https://www.youtube.com/channel/
of society, says Peter H.H. Lim – The Star Online.
UC1lfElclR8fr4AGihDW3Zqw
Retrieved August 4, 2016, from
http://artradarjournal.com/2011/04/20/asia-
ARTWORK
H.H. LIM
Enter the Parallel World,
2011, 2016
Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art. H.H. Lim:
Gone with The Wind. Retrieved August 4, 2016, from
http://ucca.org.cn/en/exhibition/h-h-lim-gone-wind
Wei-Ling Gallery. HHLIM. Retrieved August 4, 2016,
from http://www.weiling-gallery.com/HHLIM.html
Asiart Archive. (2012, June 5). Speechless – A Solo
Exhibition by H.H Lim. Retrieved August 4, 2016, from
http://www.aaa.org.hk/WorldEvents/Details/272
Artribunetv (2014, Nov 22). H.H. Lim – Tornare al
senso costruttivo. Retrieved August 4, 2016, from
https://youtu.be/pRQAJ23me5k
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realising-art-part-of-society-says-peter-h-h-limthe-star-online/
ABOUT SINGAPORE BIENNALE 2016
AN ATLAS OF MIRRORS
AT ONCE, MANY WORLDS
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ARTIST FOLIOS
FROM WHERE WE ARE,
HOW DO WE PICTURE THE WORLD ­—
AND OURSELVES?
Humankind has always devised ways of seeing
beyond sight. Two such instruments are the map
and the mirror, which make visible more than
just physical terrains. While the atlas – a book of
maps – locates where we are and charts where
we want to go, the mirror shows us to ourselves,
sometimes unreliably, and in curious ways.
Through an exploration of the literal and
metaphorical characteristics of atlas and mirror,
An Atlas of Mirrors reveals artistic perspectives
that arise from our migratory, intertwining
histories and cultures, particularly in Southeast,
East and South Asia.
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ABOUT THE ZONES
NINE
CONCEPTUAL
ZONES
The main title of the Biennale is woven through nine
• GEOMETRY & GEOGRAPHY
‘conceptual zones’, or subthemes, which locate each
• MIRRORS & MAPS
artwork in particular curatorial contexts. These zones
• SPACE & PLACE
shape the flow of the Biennale experience, like chapters
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in a book or sections in a poem. Like the title – ‘An Atlas
Where is ‘reality’, if every mapped ‘here’ is mirrored?
of Mirrors’ – which is built on the relationship between
Here, where culture-mapped territories and regions
a collective noun (“an atlas” as the collective noun) and
wend their way amidst world histories contained
what is being thought of ‘collectively’ (“mirrors”), these
within art’s histories, a mirror-scaled dragon heaves,
zones are conceptually themed along specific collective
bewilderingly opening up infinite flights of stairs within
nouns and what they hold together for contemplation
the curve of the stairwell in the heart of the museum.
and experience. Artworks located within each zone
Elsewhere, maps of present-day Sri Lanka and old
resonate on many levels, and at the same time, all nine
Ceylon jigsaw across space and time, whilst a pair of
zones coincide, intertwine and reflect each other along
artist-doppelgangers doggedly do balancing acts.
the conceptual continuum of ‘An Atlas of Mirrors’ as
a whole.
Space and place are explored and glimpsed through
mirrors and cartography, conjuring symmetrical and
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Each zone represents concepts, ideas and ways of seeing
asymmetrical parallel worlds where the real, surreal,
as explored in the 58 artworks and projects.
abstract and imaginary overlap.
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All works are © the artists unless otherwise stated. Information correct at the time of publication. All rights reserved.
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