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For The Time Being
Vanessa Liem , Singapore, 18 June - 10 July 2022

For The Time Being : Vanessa Liem

Past exhibition
  • Press release
  • Installation Views
  • Works
  • Press
Press release

Cuturi Gallery is proud to present For The Time Being featuring works by artist Vanessa Liem (b. 2002, Singapore). This marks Liem’s second solo show exhibiting a fresh body of work reflecting herself in variations of alien-like mortal figures in desolate spaces. Drawing parallels from her personal life, this series of highly figurative works are surrealistic depictions of the oppressive weight of existence, particularly hers.

 

Liem was always fond of altering human figures. Her fascination began when she started to experience fever dreams. She has found ways to exemplify those dreams through vivid and obscure visuals. In her previous exhibition, I Cried Bizarre, she formed human figures to resemble bright and shiny, slender mannequins focused on the external appearance. The plasticity of the bodies symbolised the emptiness within the characters. In contrast, the figures in For The Time Being are painted in a darker colour palette epitomizing a sombre state of being.

 

“For this series, I wanted to paint how a person felt, not how a person looked. These figures are variations of myself in states of anxiety, mania, vulnerability and numbness.”

 

Stay Still (2022) reveals a composition of two bodies stacked on top of each other in a secluded sanctuary acknowledging a state of comfort in desolation. Yearning for permanence in this solitude, Liem was consumed by feeling numb and desired for it to be unending. 

 

Portrayals of isolation, comfort, intimacy, and vulnerability permeate the foreground and background of Liem’s works. Seeking solace in a familiar hideaway during times of apprehension, she took refuge in her sister’s bedroom furnished with red-coloured curtains and bedsheets. As sunlight slithers through the gaps and fibres of the curtains, the room starts to glow in hues of red, setting the backdrop of Red Room (2022). Being still in the solace, Liem reaches the point of acceptance of her mental state as the absent limbs from the torso on the bed symbolise her detachment from reality. The lack of limbs illustrates her as a helpless victim.

 

“By staying in seclusion and away from reality brings the question of whether this is self-care or self-sabotage?” Positive and negative connotations are seen sporadically throughout Liem’s works.

 

Arrival (2022) pivots from the notion of being subservient to her emotions and attempts to reclaim mental stability. Liem sets the three unified figures in an alternate universe. As she interacts with the foreground, the aurora lights crown the head of the dominant figure as devil horns to emphasize the temperament of animosity. Symbolizing the sentiments of rage and resentment, she endows it with the ability to shoot lasers from the eyes while two bodies latch onto its legs for stability and support. Liem describes how this scene unfolds as a reclamation of land or the domination of territory. This translates to the repossession of her mental well-being or the pursuit of a new haven. Much like this piece, Liem’s paintings often acquire dual interpretations.

 

For The Time Being, present works that confront us with Liem’s visceral emotions. Upon seeking escapism by situating herself in familiar and unknown spaces, she questions how this coping mechanism might lead her in circles of psychological destruction.

 

Vanessa Liem’s For The Time Being will be on view at Cuturi Gallery from 18th June to 10th July 2022. 

 

Text by Renee Loh 

 

Exhibition Catalogue 

Installation Views
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Works
  • Vanessa Liem, We Cannot Escape The Moon , 2022
    Vanessa Liem, We Cannot Escape The Moon , 2022
  • Vanessa Liem, Arrival , 2022
    Vanessa Liem, Arrival , 2022
  • Vanessa Liem, Black Out Days , 2022
    Vanessa Liem, Black Out Days , 2022
  • Vanessa Liem, Fever Dream, 2021
    Vanessa Liem, Fever Dream, 2021
  • Vanessa Liem, Ghost , 2022
    Vanessa Liem, Ghost , 2022
  • Vanessa Liem, I am Mine, in Your World , 2021
    Vanessa Liem, I am Mine, in Your World , 2021
  • Vanessa Liem, Pleasure Puppets , 2021
    Vanessa Liem, Pleasure Puppets , 2021
  • Vanessa Liem, Red Room, 2022
    Vanessa Liem, Red Room, 2022
  • Vanessa Liem, Stay Still , 2021
    Vanessa Liem, Stay Still , 2021
  • Vanessa Liem, Sleepwalker #1 , 2022
    Vanessa Liem, Sleepwalker #1 , 2022
  • Vanessa Liem, Sleepwalker #2, 2022
    Vanessa Liem, Sleepwalker #2, 2022
  • Vanessa Liem, Sleepwalker #3, 2022
    Vanessa Liem, Sleepwalker #3, 2022
  • Vanessa Liem, Sleepwalker #4, 2022
    Vanessa Liem, Sleepwalker #4, 2022
  • Vanessa Liem, Sleepwalker #5, 2022
    Vanessa Liem, Sleepwalker #5, 2022
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Press
  • What to do this weekend (July 1 to 3)

    Ng Kai, AsiaOne, June 30, 2022
  • Water bodies in ‘For the Time Being’

    Ants Chua, Art and Market, June 24, 2022
  • Young Singaporean Artist Vanessa Liem Opens Solo Exhibition At Cuturi Gallery

    Jolene Teo, Alien Space Crab, June 21, 2022
  • Artist spotlight: Vanessa Liem lays herself bare with haunting surrealist paintings

    Cheryl Sekkappan, Timeout SIngapore, June 21, 2022
  • 17 June 2022 – Vanessa Liem’s solo show For The Time Being at Cuturi Gallery

    Plural Art Mag, June 17, 2022
  • Arts Picks: Paintings by pioneer Chen Wen Hsi and newcomer Vanessa Liem

    Arthur Sim, The Straits Times, June 16, 2022
  • Things To Do In Singapore: Pink Dot 2022, A Show On Batik & More

    Keng Yang Shuen, Female Singapore, June 16, 2022
  • For The Time Being

    Cheryl Sekkappan, Timeout Singapore , June 15, 2022
  • The Best Things to do in Singapore This Week: 13th June to 19th June 2022

    City Nomads, June 12, 2022
  • Her Surreal World

    Soh En Xuan, Catch Online, June 9, 2022

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