Ashley Lim Le Xuan Exhibition pieces 2023
Ashley Lim Le Xuan
Regularity (March 2023) 25 × 50.5 cm
Oil on Canvas
Inspired by Georgette Chan’s works that often celebrate the ordinary with every day subject matter, this piece uses the stool as a basic object for its consistent, regular lines and contours, to emphasise monotony. Regularity presents it in a negative light through the use of muted tones. I also experimented with visible brushstrokes and unnatural colours Chen often used, although they were largely toned down to preserve the intention behind the work.
Grounded (June 2023) 101 × 76 cm
Oil on Canvas
This whale represents a metaphorical “fish out of water,” trapped on the floor and out of reach of the bird’s handle. Using the parquet flooring as a subtle repetition in the background, I used contrasting colours to emphasise how the whale did not belong to the yellow and brown tones, and yet was surrounded on all sides by it. This was an attempt to blend the feeling of being trapped in the daily routine, out of one’s depth when reaching for one’s dream, together.
Exasperation (August 2023) 101 × 76 cm
Oil on Canvas
In pursuing dreams, there are always steps to be taken and acted upon. There exists the possibility of these steps becoming the new routine, causing one to lose sight of their eventual goal. The absence of the bird in this piece is symbolic of having unwittingly forgotten what one is pursuing, having shifted focus to the act of following the goal, and not the dream itself. With the deflated toy, I intended to convey the frustration of returning to the routine, after the struggle to escape it.
Digital Painting
Ruination (October 2023) 84 × 57 cm
Inspired by the blend of melancholy and hope in David James Armsby’s “The Last Tyrant”, I intended to mix curiosity and hope with fear and uncertainty brought forth by the chance to step out of one’s comfort zone. I alluded to the asteroid that theoretically ended the dinosaurs and the world as it was; perhaps pursuing a dream will do the same for oneself. I found that the digital medium was most apt for this piece: being the first time I used it, and it was a step away from what I am comfortable with.
Digital Painting
What Then? (October 2023) 84 × 57 cm
True to its title, this piece aims to ask the singular question – “What then?” What comes after one’s goal is achieved? If one hopes to escape the monotony they come from, one does not have the luxury of stopping once they achieve their dream. Ultimately, the dream only serves to lead one around an endless cycle of strife, where achievement is never enough. In the end, perhaps the dream itself is useless. Maybe in the end, it is not the dream that matters: it is the journey that does.
