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“The Voyeur”, 2009, Acrylic on Canvas
Quote by Friedrich Nietzsche
Justin Lim is a painter compelled to question existence. Faith, culture, gender and social hierarchy; these he believes are among the many tools of public and personal manipulation that are often left unquestioned. In an age where savagery and bestially have long been buried under the tissues of a civilized world, the trappings of society and culture are no longer limitations of objective expression.
With a penchant for peeling away at the layers of perceived truths, his earlier body of works, Gods Heroes & Myths, created during his 2008 Rimbun Dahan residency has been visual questionings of God and faith within a nation so heavily influenced by an illuminated chosen heaven and hell. An investigation of contemporary political events that were unfolding around him, his mode of representations have always been created with desire for both reaction and general understanding of the public. This need to carve out accessible avenues for comprehension of humanity by way of imagery is reflected throughout his use of Malay mythology and myth making.
"The Revolution will not be Televised", 2009, Acylic on Canvas
Freedom remains a condition of every action in these existential pieces the artist wields on canvas. Again, meat in a variety of forms is heavily present in his work. This exploration into flesh, blood and bone and the immense significance and symbolism it holds to humanity, is of personal curiosity to the artist.
In a nation like Malaysia where religion is prominently influential, flesh to be consumed is to be scaled upon a hierarchy of religious weight age before deemed acceptable for those whose faith is wrapped within the four holy books, the Quran, Zaboor, Torah and the Bible. To what degree are these books apt truths to measure the quality of life? Also, how much of the way we live is merely an unconscious product of governance by politics, religion and culture? Is voyeurism an act entirely independent of the subjects within it? These are the questions raised within the sphere of his new works.
"Aeroplanes and Anatomy 2", 2009, Acrylic on Canvas
Ideas birthed from instinct, his painting constructs itself with self improvisation to temper the edges of spirited ideas. His constant search for answers fuel his compulsion to create art to question the workings of the world he rises to. Traditional gender roles of strength and leadership within religion and evolution are examined in his piece The Revolution will not be televised. While Aeroplanes & Anatomy question the role of mortality as pawn in a controlled environment.
"Aeroplanes and Anatomy", 2009, Acrylic on Canvas
Akin to his previous work, this current series is an extension in form and method of ideas. Justin’s new works will be on exhibition within his current participation in a loose presentation of works by four young male Malaysian artists at Taksu Gallery. Branded as the Fab 4, this exhibition opens on the 25th of June.
(HM)
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Given the consistent use of hidden face /object face motif by the artist, Justin is either bad in drawing faces and is trying to avoid showing this weakness or is consciously using some kind of strategy similar to the chimeras from mythology (like the recent Mun Kao but not funny loh) or Magritte and Yasmin Sison Ching’s mystery sitter technique.
Since the rendering of the bodies lack proper proportion and are modeled rather amaturishly when compared to a Zakii body or Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, I’ll have to suspect that the facelessness is more like a cop-out disguised as deep symbolism.
Or perhaps it has nothing to do with Justin and other artists since it is simply on eof many examples of how the human brain has the tendency to look for human faces and draw a lot of information from this region of the body.
Even when faces are not present, we may experience pareidolia – a pyschological tendency for humans to find something familiar or significant in ordinary things. If you see the face of Jesus/Buddha/or the one who must not be named in your toast, that’s not God taking a fancy on you. It’s pareidolia.
…mmm another thing, besides the overuse of nostalgic visuals, can painters hold back on the dripping for awhile? Or do something more significant with it other than background decoration?
The drip is supposed to be expressive, it contains the emotional mark of the artist, who has so many same old things to say our current world issues. can’t you feel it? :p
Sometimes i wonder what qualities do this kind of art have? In terms of political knowledge, it’s just rehashing the same old stuff, you don’t leave the painting feeling the wiser from learning any new insight into our current social problem.
In terms of technique, I agree with Urbanscapes, it’s just bad. There’s nee skill in composition! Are we still playing along the lines of the romantic artist? Why is the market still supporting this kind of work?
Well done Haseena. Always enjoy your articles and choice of artists. Looks like u did alot of work on this article and it reads well. keep up the good work. Its interesting to see such a young artist doing such major works. Am confident to say that justin lim will in fact become a major Malaysian artist.
What a bunch of colossal wankers you lot are! ‘Kin ell!!
Really avin a laugh at the verbose language of this shite writing masked ever vainly in flat pseudo intellectualism, grasping, through her infantile understanding of epistemology.
You watch too much tv Haseena. What was it that philosophically inspired you to quote Nietzsche? Alicia Silverstone and Clueless?
And the artwork? socio-politico philosophical garbage coming from a stereotypical West KLite-upper middle class English educated-wannabe rastafari-pristine skin untouched by the son and sweat of real labour-interpreting life from merely watching pseudo avant garde films from the comfort of ‘undebased’ and bourgeois 90210 inspired townplanning of Damansara-kid isn’t exactly something you’d want to take seriously innit?
Leave the shallow social commentaries out son. You’ve done enough self-humiliation with the well-groomed dreads.
Hello a journo:
“And the artwork? socio-politico philosophical garbage coming from a stereotypical West KLite-upper middle class English educated-wannabe rastafari-pristine skin untouched by the son and sweat of real labour-interpreting life from merely watching pseudo avant garde films from the comfort of ‘undebased’ and bourgeois 90210 inspired townplanning of Damansara-kid isn’t exactly something you’d want to take seriously innit?”
Woah, really difficult to parse that sentence was, innit? Feeling much better, now that you’ve gotten that off your chest?
Right, then: why, exactly, is Justin’s work “socio-politico philosophical garbage”? Not having encountered his stuff too much, I sincerely like to know.
Dismissing it just because the artist fakes street-cred doesn’t really fly, unfortunately — especially if you really are a journalist. I believe that “parachuting in” is a common phrase in the media profession?
Does ‘West-KLite-upper-middle-class-English-educated-wannabe-rastafari-pristine-skin…’ really gain comfort from watching ‘‘undebased’ and bourgeois 90210’? Maybe the OC more like it.
Journo,
do you even know Justin personally? His dreads actually smells. hahaha
A Journo, what’s up your arse, a thick Thesaurus?
I’m not sure if this is what a journo saw but i am touched by your ‘sincere’ interest Zedeck so here is more of what i think of Justin (we bang him because we see potential for growth).
SYMBOLIC EVIDENCE OF THE “SOCIO-POLITICAL & PHILOSOPHICAL” IN THE ART OF JUSTIN LIM:
single portrait/body = it’s private /personal
many bodies = it’s social / political
large figure surrounded by smaller figures = group dynamics / power play element of socio-politics
Title: The Revolution will not be Televised = political
face / body = physical beauty
face replaced by X = mind is preoccupied by X / philosophy / something
natural body vs. toys/animals/flayed body/small bodies/cartoons/meat in abstract background = representations of a mind working out metaphorical concepts = philosophy
HOW GARBAGE THEY ARE IS UP TO YOU THOUGH.
I’M NOT INCLINED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THE ARTIST HAS TO SAY BECAUSE HIS FIGURE DRAWING SKILL IS STILL CRAPPY AND THE PAINTING IS OVERWORKED.
HIS EARLY ABSTRACTS ARE OK.
HOW WELL AN ARTIST’S HAIR SMELLS OR WHAT HIS BACKGROUND IS NOT A MAJOR FACTOR IN ART APPRECIATION. EVEN IF MICHEL JACKSON WAS A PEDOBEAR (SUCKED UNDERAGED BOYS PP), PEOPLE STILL REMEMBER HIM FOR HIS ART…RIGHT? SORRY FOR THE CAPS. AM NOT ANGRY. CAPS ARE FUN !_!;( );.
Let me make it simple.
Imagine Paris Hilton talking about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or consumerism in the face of hyper-capitalism.
Can you imagine mr Ziddeck?
This social phenomena, factored by cultural and economic determinants (yes I am being Marxist), has been, decades ago, foreseen by those in the radical political art movement ie situationism, dadaism bla bla bla.
I’m sure you lot are smarter than me and are much familiar with the thoughts of Adorno?
Social revolutionary actions pacified in the form of the spectacle.
You see this is why your type (not you mr ziddeck) annoy me.
It’s all (social reality) just a conversation to you, something to talk about while you’re having dinner at Ceylon Bar or trying to get into a girls pants.
You talk and talk, steal some ideas from the book you came across or the article you read in a newspaper, make it a subject matter as if you know what it feels like to be in that reality.
The organic nature of concrete reality juxtaposed in the mere ‘subject’ matter of a series of work; where life become a mere spectacle embodied in ‘aesthetics’, where social commentaries are translated and remains as ‘commentaries’.
Sort of a dessert enjoyed while drinking expensive wines, and having conversations about which yacht to purchase or the nice steak one had somewhere in the faux bourgeois area of Chelsea.
It makes you feel ‘revolutionary’ dont you? makes you feel smarter and special when you’re there deeply analyzing profoundly political artwork? of course you do.
Oh yea mr artist, the revolution HAD been televised. They did it a couple of decades ago in case you missed it. They might have a replay next Tuesday.
Yo A Journo,
Well, your points are pretty true on a social-political level but why begin your initial critique by zooming in on the alledged hypocricy or supposed pretentiousness of one artist? There are so many artists out there who are making social-political stuff while selling out at a private art gallery. If you had introduce Marxist ideology first and cite Justin as an example, your arguements would have much more force and validity.
I suspect that A Journo you’r a really smart hot chick that Justin met at Ceylon bar or at the opening in Taksu. You got your heart broken and now abusing your knowledge to take revenge. How could any stranger know so much personal details about Justin (i.e educational background, social status, hairstyle, SKIN CONDITION, residential area)?
Please leave your phone number if you really are a smart hot chick or at least continue leaving some more intelligent mindfuck comments here or in the other posts. Hmm wait.. your reference to 90210 suggests that you may be oldddd but no biggie.If you are instead a ‘son and sweat of real labour’, just leaving your comments will do.
So Journo…what do you say to people like Bono or Bob Geldorf who are artists interested in promoting charity? STFU you rich pricks? Go sing songs and leave Africa to Africans?
Art has the power to create empathy. Picasso may have been a womanising bastard but that did prevent him from painting a sensitive picture of a grieving woman. The artist did not witness the village bombing of Guenica yet he created a masterpiece which created awareness in people to an event which history would have otherwise forgotten.
Certainly there is a limit to this disassociation between work and artist. Paris Hilton singing on Hyper Consumption is ironic yet ridonkulous but Justin here is just starting out. If his next exhibition is a series of pretty portraits of Datuk and Datins, then maybe you can call him out on your charges. I think its still too early to tell for now. Bare in mind thought that not many people can be committed political activists 24-7 their whole life.
Furthermore we can’t always choose what kind of social status or education we are born into. Maybe young Justin is starting to see the evils of the invisible empire and is sincerely trying to give wine sippers at his opening something to think about instead of mind numbing pretty pictures of carps. Well that’s more hope for all those social-political artists exhibiting at galleries out there.
Whatever the revolution is, the latest research suggests that we need people from all sections of society for change to happen.
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang/design-innovation/you-say-you-want-revolution
Having a worker’s struggle made from the working class alone is not effective. The Parisian Strikes of 1968 saw univerity students, workers, interlectuals, etc. coming together-gether for a cause. So Journo, you and Justin should meet up/make up and share some really serious social-political and philosophical exchange. If Justin improves his technique as well, we may have a series of very inspirational paintings coming our way.
a journo: you sound like a very angry and sad old man/woman with plenty of pent up frustration. I feel sorry that you are letting it all out at this young artist. Maybe you have had a rough childhood, maybe you have been broken hearted many times, or maybe you are just jealous of young Mr.Lim. Whatever the reason, your art appreciating seem to boil down to your own personal insecurities. If you are really a ‘son of sweat and labour’, you should project your energy into something more productive for yourself and society and not pick on young artists who have strived so hard to make name for themself.
Also, contrary to what Mr.ziddeck has said, i believe Mr.Lim is not faking any street cred. You claim to not know much about his work, yet you judge that he is faking street credibility? I have seen him perform music many times and is well respected in the music community, to be able to have such talent in art and music and channel it positively is admirable. He has performed at major festivals with some of the biggest and respected names in music. There is nothing to fake about there. His paintings have been exhibited internationally and collected by many. There is nothing to fake about there.
For such a young artist to be making such work that is worthy of discussion here is a validation itself. I shall be following his career closely with great delight and anticipation.
what a wank job eh the last two posts? absolute toss. especially the last to paras of the last post. fuckin hell, talk about having a laugh!
Maybe the old twat ain’t got talent that he’s got to follow someone else’s. You’re not aving a crush on the bloke are ya? Geezuz! you’d two make a cute couple, full of admiration and masturbations.
“To be able to channel talent positively..” KAHKAHKAH!! you’re good mate. Seriously. Where you from? Damansara?
Parisian strike? doubt artists in Malaysia or even Justin would go down to such extend yea since their livelihood depends on the very force that nurtured the revolt.
See the diff is, artists alongside others from the 68 era acted while here, well, it seems talking and painting it is just enough.
It would have been spot on if you refer to the same era but look towards further west, deep in the white suburbs, the birthplace of the counter culture which began as something beautiful but transformed into a laughing stock as history takes its course.
I didn’t know girls dig mommy’s boy like Justin? Fuckin hell.
Give me solid arguments pls!! this is definitely below great retardation and gay
I think Justin lost his head and is posing as A Journo lol now that would be a real wank job!
http://www.theweek.com/cartoons/index/98603/Iran_the_world_and_Twitter
like this ah journo?