Intervals I+II

Narrator: This is a display of three works known as the Intervals series. They come from the collections of Tate and National Gallery Singapore and are brought together for the first time to showcase three display possibilities. Each work features rectilinear components, made from brown pinewood and measuring 1.8 metres long. They have short, evenly spaced prongs along the spine, like teeth on a large hair comb. In the middle, Intervals l leans vertically against the wall; its prongs sticking out like crossbeams on a vertical column. Next to it are the two arrangements Intervals llB and Intervals llC. Like Intervals l, Intervals llB is leaning against the wall, but its wooden components are spaced apart and its arms are pointing inwards. Intervals llC is laid out on the floor and is distinguished by having its arms “criss-cross.” Here’s Joleen Loh, co-curator of the exhibition. Joleen Loh: What’s central to Kim Lim’s work here are the in-between spaces, or as its title suggests, the “intervals” created by the ladder-like wooden structures. What’s so interesting is that they can be arranged in several ways, just as the artist intended, to explore space. Light becomes an important element. As you move around the display, light passes through the spaces between the prongs and creates patterns with the shadows like echoes. These structures introduce rhythm into the space through repetition, like the silence between musical notes or the repetition of a musical phrase to build an effect. These works demonstrate Kim Lim’s engagement with American and European minimalism. Her references to music, nature and the play of shadow suggest other impulses for her artmaking. Narrator: Lim’s clever use of space allows us to appreciate not just the solid wooden parts, but also the spaces between them. With no obvious top, bottom, front, or back, you can explore the work from multiple angles, revealing the endless possibilities within Lim’s minimalist design.