Manifolds

Substation Gallery (2009)
ICAN Gallery, Yogyakarta (2018)

Manifolds is an ongoing body of work that began in 2009 and has been presented in different iterations in Singapore and Indonesia, including at the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore, The Substation and Institute of Contemporary Arts Network, Yogyakarta.
 

The project developed from Hazel Lim’s interest in origami patterns and the possibilities of repetition and modular construction. Using transparent and semi-transparent papers in shades of white, black, silver, gold and dark blue, Lim interlocks individual folded modules to form large, malleable sculptural structures. Their surfaces respond to changing conditions of light, producing shifting reflections, transparencies and shadows within the surrounding space.
 

The joining of these individual modules functions as a form of weaving, where repeated parts gradually accumulate into something larger and more complex. Lim relates this process to her observations of quilting and crocheting by women in her family, particularly her mother and aunts. Through repetition, care and time, small pieces of fabric or lengths of yarn were assembled into larger objects that served both functional and decorative purposes within the home.
 

In Manifolds, these domestic processes of making are translated through paper folding and modular construction. Repetition becomes a form of labour and accumulation, while folding and interlocking allow individual units to expand into larger sculptural forms.