Charles Lim is Singapore’s bet at Venice Biennale 2015

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Pavilion will be back at the prestigious Venice Biennale next year. Representing the country will be contemporary artist Charles Lim, who will work with curator Shabbir Hussain Mustafa.

Lim is no stranger to Venice, having won a Special Mention for his short film All The Lines Flow Out at the Venice Film Festival in 2011. Prior to that, the art installation version of the piece was exhibited at the Singapore Biennale that same year.

Lim has also previously participated in the equally prestigious Documenta event in Kassel as part of the art collective tsunami.net.

A former national sailor and husband of film-maker Wee Li Lin, Lim’s body of works have mostly dealt with issues regarding bodies of water, including his most recent show, In Search Of Raffles’ Light, at the National University Of Singapore Museum, which was curated by Mustafa, who has since moved from the museum to National Gallery, Singapore.

The proposed project for the biennale, SEA STATE, will be the culmination of his ongoing series under the same name. It was chosen out of eight proposals received by the National Arts Council (NAC).

Mr Lawrence Wong, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, said: "We are working toward a long-term lease of a pavilion space at the Venice Biennale. This would give greater stability to our presence at the Biennale, and a longer lead time to plan and commission artworks to be presented." He was speaking at the opening of the Singapore Art Museum's latest show, Medium at Large. 

After consecutive successes at the prestigious event, including showcases by artists Ming Wong and Ho Tzu Nyen, whose work The Cloud Of Unknowing is now part of the Singapore Art Museum’s current exhibition Medium At Large, the NAC decided to assess the need to participate and did not take part in last year’s edition. It was a move that prompted an open letter signed by some 200 arts practitioners urging that the decision be reconsidered. Last year, the arts council sent a contingent of artists, curators and administrators on a networking and exposure programme.