Residency

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This is one direction which I'm taking with my own art practice, to create a space where the artist becomes the audience, encountering for the first time, re-encountering from different perspectives his own ad practice, realizations, thinking, work. This encounter can be public, private or both, change. Moving the idea of work in progress away from the gallery, art show format into something else. Aims to resist against artist and art feeding and servicing spaces, institutions.

- Charles Lim, 72-13, Creative-in-Residence

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Visual artist Charles Lim Yi Yong envisions an unconventional space. An artistic playground where artists can engage with each other and explore the environment through mutual collaborations or even conflicting perspectives. 

 

72-13 Offsite is such a space. 

 

Developed as part of the 72-13 Creatives-in-Residence Programme, 72-13 Offsite is an alternative arts laboratory space converted from an old squash court located at Winchester Road. Among idyllic greenery, this experimental arts space is fluid and sets out to provide ideal conditions for a process-oriented arts practice. Moving away from run-of-the-mill art galleries and exhibition halls, 72-13 Offsite functions as a unique on-going laboratory for artists to collaborate, experiment, and work on their processes. 

 

In line with his own arts practice, Charles believes that the ideal space is one that works for the artist. and not the other way round. Going against the conventions of art feeding and servicing, the conceptualisation of 72-13 Offsite was inspired by the ideals of artistic freedom and how art should never be made just for the purposes of completion and public showings. 

 

Charles' project also parallels 72-13's philosophy of supporting processes, thereby giving artists the time and space to experiment and create their works, irregardless of their 'successful' completion. 

 

From his point of view. the man likes to see his project as unfinished and therefore the beauty of 72-13 Offsite lies in its function as an on-going arts laboratory space. 

 

Charles is very much open to the idea of inviting artists and creatives to engage with him in the space. He is currently developing a work with Japanese artist, Takuji Kogo if Candy Factory, and we can expect the two to share their processes and findings in the near future. 

 

Visual artist Charles Lim, born in 1973 (Singapore), is a former national sailor and holds a BA in Fine Arts from Central St. Martins College. Charles has shown a propensity towards technology and gadgets. He has an interest in the relationship between physical and virtual systems; between land and borders, submarine cables and the Internet. ideas and physical realities, and quotes these as points of entry towards his work. He enjoys playing with these ideas and thoughts through "art" and has demonstrated how he conflates the idea of borders by reversing the geography of the sea and land in his series of work — "Seastories". 

 

Charles' works have been showcased in various cities such as Yamaguchi, Brisbane, Singapore. Berlin, Seoul. London, and Kassel. He has also worked with Takuji Kogo of Candy Factory to produce the multimedia project "Life Wouldn't Be The Same Without Safe Seas". Recent Exhibitions  Charles' video installation — "Its Not That I Forgot But Rather I Chose Not To Mention", was recently exhibited at Manifesta7 2008, at Bolzano/Bozen, Italy. He had met the curators of Manifesta7, Raqs Media Collective at TheatreWorks' Flying Circus Project 2007. There, he sold three copies of his work, in which one copy also became a permanent collection. 

 

 In the Shanghai Biennale 2008, Charles showcased his work entitled "The Sea Stories Sea State 1: inside outside". In this work, he collected one hundred sets of pictures of lighthouses, each picture taken from two different angles.