VCA ART 2020

John Lim

Bachelor of Fine Arts (Drawing & Printmaking)

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. In my works, I use the divergent narratives that these two spaces hold—the fragmentation of my memories in Malaysia fused with the idiosyncratic features of Australian culture—to create a visual amalgam.

John Lim, Blue heaven, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2020
John Lim, Blue heaven, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2020
John Lim, Island-ness, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2020
John Lim, Island-ness, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2020
John Lim, Rugs 51, acrylic on canvas, 2020
John Lim, Rugs 51, acrylic on canvas, 2020
John Lim, Unset, acrylic on canvas, 2020
John Lim, Unset, acrylic on canvas, 2020
John Lim, Laser disks, acrylic on canvas, 2020
John Lim, Laser disks, acrylic on canvas, 2020
John Lim, installation view, 2020. Documentation by Christo Crocker, Eliza Dyball and Aaron Rees.
John Lim, installation view, 2020. Documentation by Christo Crocker, Eliza Dyball and Aaron Rees.
John Lim, Pink swing, acrylic and oil on linen canvas, 2020
John Lim, Pink swing, acrylic and oil on linen canvas, 2020
John Lim, Georgetown, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2020
John Lim, Georgetown, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2020
John Lim, Sunday afternoon, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2020
John Lim, Sunday afternoon, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2020

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campus is situated, the people of the Boon Wurrung and Woi Wurrung, who have created art, made music and told their stories here for thousands of generations. We also acknowledge and extend our respect to the Traditional Owners of all lands on which our work is viewed, shared and enjoyed, and to all Elders, past, present and emerging.

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