Many of Charles Lim Yi Yong's projects have involved an interrogation of infrastructures relating the water to the land. His research has previously explored man-made systems such as reclaimed land, drainage systems, and boats.
Read MoreLim's practice emerges from a thorough engagement with the natural environment and its histories, informed by field research and various adaptations through performance, drawing, photography, and video. The artist's work particularly explores how systems of global capitalism have taken claim to and transformed our natural world, in particular bodies of water and its coasts.
SEA STATE (2015) is the culmination of ten years of research, developed between 2005 and 2015. This contemporary art project explores the biophysical, political, and psychic dimensions of Singapore through the lens of the sea. Lim has engaged in an extensive study with regard to Singapore's maritime history, geography, and ecological footprint to examine the relationships between nature and technology.
Presented at the Venice Biennale in 2015, this work was composed of nine parts, including several videos, images, maps, and a barnacle-covered buoy. After its run in Venice, SEA STATE held a homecoming exhibition at the Nanyang Technological University Centre for Contemporary Art (NTU CCA) Singapore in 2016.
