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Blurring the lines

When does a drawing become an architectural expression of form? What distinguishes a hobby from a job or a passion? What defines the difference between architecture and painting? Lim Cheng Kooi’s exhibition of black and white figure drawings, Ebony + Ivory, raised these intriguing questions, perhaps inadvertently, in a manner lacking any pretension or artifice.

Trained in architecture, Lim is director of a firm whose projects span international boundaries. He is also the creator of Ebony + Ivory, an exhibition which was held at The Arts House in October 2008. Lim’s childhood love of drawing and painting, as well as his lifelong fascination with the human form, did not however lead him to a profession as an artist. In his words, during “those days”, pursuing art as a profession wasn’t something that was very common, or encouraged. Instead, architecture became the closest and natural alternative to fine arts.

While architecture is what Lim “does every day”, painting has become his favorite way to de-stress. Since 2003, Lim has been part of a group of figure drawing enthusiasts who gather at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) every Monday evening, after work, to draw with a life model. Lim readily admits that members of the group, due to work-related delays, would be less than punctual, but nevertheless every minute of his time there would be enjoyable, even if it was just an hour or less.

The twenty-odd works in the exhibition embodied this joyful spirit. Given the variety of techniques in the works, it was clear that Lim was experimenting with different techniques throughout. His drawings were rendered in charcoal as well as ink, with charcoal emerging as his preferred medium. “Charcoal I found was the most effective to work with, it is soft and yet sharp in the contrast. With charcoal, I tried different techniques on different papers to create varied effects and moods.” Indeed, the varied effects achieved included the gestural, the abstract and one with a touch of Cubism.

For Lim, Michaelangelo’s depictions of figures and musculature in paintings and sculpture has always been a source of inspiration. Lim’s other inspirations include the works of masters such as Egon Schiele and Lucian Freud, whose unconventional depictions of the human figure have attracted controversy. In somewhat similar vein, Lim’s drawings celebrate the human figure in all its different shapes and contortions. Lim has encountered some interesting models. The NAFA drawing group once employed a local young man who was very well-built and muscular. His distinctive figure made for an interesting work – with all sorts of angles and shadows created by the sinews of his back. The craggy lines, almost reminiscent of a mountain scape, formed quite a contrast to the sensuous outlines of the feminine forms in Ebony + Ivory. Another model, a lady from China, models for the drawing group quite regularly and is quite adept at formulating poses which contain an inner emotion.

Although most life drawing models these days are of “not-so-perfect” size and height, Lim professes to prefer drawings of such “imperfect figures” as they are more “real”. After all, as Lim puts it, isn’t it is the imperfection that makes the character so distinct in the drawings? But the more “imperfect” the figure, the more of a challenge it might present for the artist. According to Lim, he often moves around the model to try drawing them from different angles, in order to determine the best angle with which to depict their form. Naturally, the best angle varies according to what kind of shape and form one is drawing. For this drawing involving a larger sized lady, Lim found her very challenging to draw. He first drew her looking straight on, but this did not satisfactorily capture her mass and form. He ended up trying several different angles before finally settling on one – a partial side view - which conveyed the gentle heft and strongly defined contours of the model’s form.

Architecture training aside, Lim’s interest spans many art forms, of which drawing is one of them, as well as sculpture and pottery. This wide artistic range reflects Lim’s personal belief about the inter-relational dynamic between art forms. Lim shares his thoughts.

“I believe that architecture is related to many art forms. Ultimately, I don’t believe in drawing lines between genres. To me, all art forms are inter-related and they influence one another. Concepts of form, structure, space and mass are relevant in almost every genre.”

This statement reminded me of an exhibition entitled Skin + Bones, which sought to highlight the parallels between fashion and architecture. Indeed, with the incorporation of ideas like folding, cantilever, geometry, draping, etc. into the language of architecture, the field has become richer and more resonant over the decades. This language, with a focus on form, structure, space and mass, has clearly informed Lim’s drawings, with positive consequences.

Ebony + Ivory, the fruit of one talented artist's pursuit of a hobby, also served a very pragmatic purpose. The exhibition raised funds for two charities that Lim supports, through the sale of the works. One charity helps needy students in NorthBrooks Secondary School in Yishun, which focuses on the artistically inclined. The other charity is a home for disabled children, Karuna Home in Mysore, India, which Lim helped to build some years ago. Curiously, the idea to sell his drawings came to Lim in a roundabout manner – through his son. Sometime last year, Lim indicated, he would place most of his nude drawings at the patio in his home. One day, he noticed that the drawings had been flipped around so that they faced the wall. Upon some investigation, Lim found out that it was his 10 year old son who had done it. Over a chat, Lim realized that his son was very embarrassed whenever his friends came around to their house after school, as they would laugh at him for having these "pornographic" drawings around. Hence, as a promise to his son, Lim decided to hold the exhibition and sell the drawings.

d + a Magazine
2008