Episode 15: Subtle Surprises with Accidental Sculptor Qimmy Shimmy
Qimmy Shimmy shares how people’s reaction to her work can be more fascinating than the actual idea behind the piece.
Lim Qi Xuan, also known as Qimmy Shimmy, is a Singaporean designer and artist known for her unique style of juxtaposing everyday objects with hand-sculpted body parts. Her works have been showcased in Singapore, Maia, Eindhoven, Prague, London, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Portland, Rome and New York.
Pistachio
This idea came to mind when Qimmy saw leftover pistachio shells on Chinese New Year. Using some leftover clay, Qimmy crafted her first sculpted piece. Positive feedback from friends and on social media kickstarted her journey as an ‘accidental sculptor.’
“Wouldn't it be really cool if you pop it open, and you see something really unexpected.”
Method
Qimmy spent some time making adjustments to her sculptures so that they look consistent. Now, she has a step-by-step method that she follows to create her sculptures.
“Usually creating the work itself doesn't take that much time. It’s making it consistent that takes a lot of time.”
“I feel that conceptualising the idea takes more time and when I actually have to sculpt them, it's quite predictable.”
“When you need to create a series from an idea, just spend some time to think about how you can make it even stronger.”
Happy Pills
Qimmy created Happy Pills for a group show her friend was organising.
“As a designer, I always feel that we overcompensate. Doing something very minimalistic is very difficult because we feel that we need to do more, add more colours, make it really well. But I wanted to try something completely opposite.”
Canned
Canned was a series of sculptures commissioned by an Italian gallery when she was studying in the Netherlands. She received the commission when she was on a trip to Portugal, and drew inspiration from the Portuguese tradition of canning.
First Show
Qimmy held her first show at the Temporary Arts Centre in Eindhoven after being approached by one of the curators there.
“We actually worked very closely together. She was talking to me about my style and how do I push it further. It was quite nice, my first experience working with a curator.”
Temporary Arts Centre
The Temporary Arts Centre provides emerging new artists a platform to hone their craft and showcase their works. Their program focuses on newly developed work and experiments in areas like digital art, acoustic music, local designs and interactive performances.
Little Hearts Series
Qimmy’s favourite series was created for a show in Melbourne, and Qimmy wanted to introduce something new to the city that would be familiar to the Asian community there.
“It is something that was very close to heart because the whole time when I was creating, like cans and desserts and stuff, I was always looking at very French-inspired pastries. When I came back to Singapore, there was just this craving to do something that's a bit closer to home.”
Recommendations
Qimmy enjoys readings stories with fantastical elements and is currently on the first book of Dune.
Qimmy also enjoys the films by Tim Burton, which inspired her works as a child.
Here are some of the films she recommends:
The Nightmare Before Christmas
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