Q&A: Designer by Day and Artist by Night: The Double Life of QimmyShimmy
EVER THOUGHT TONGUES AND ICE CREAM GO TOGETHER? — Think again! Singapore-born artist QimmyShimmy does just this for a living: combining body parts with the most creative foods — dumplings, sushi, cakes, pastries and much more as she shares frequently on her Instagram.
A designer by day and an artist by night, Qimmy, moniker of Qixuan Lim, spends her days “lusting over beautiful typography, maps and collecting strange curiosities,” as she writes on her website.
Some describe her work as “pop-surrealistic,” others as “creepy-cute,” but her sculptures are always open to new, bizarre interpretations. The artist wishes to create tension between the real and the imaginary, utilizing her unique style shaped by her love for fantasy stories, old curiosities, and time-travel.
Her upcoming solo show at BeinArt Gallery, titled Ice Cream, You Scream, will open in January 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. Qimmy has been exhibiting across Asia, Europe and the United States since 2016, and her work has already been featured in magazines like Hi-Fructose, Juxtapoz, VICE and Reuters, among others. Now, she decided to share her vision with Luna - continue reading to discover more about QimmyShimmy’s artistic conception and where her art is heading in 2022.
LUNA: I would like to start by talking about the primary inspirations behind your work: where does your style originate from? How long did it take for you to get where you are right now, conceptually speaking?
QIMMY: Since I started my creative journey, I have followed many pop-surrealist artists like Mark Ryden, Nicoletta Ceccoli, and Ray Caesar. I have always been quite taken by imagery that is both dark and beautiful. As a child, I have never been into stories and characters that were too saccharine and perfect, finding them too one-dimensional and unrealistic. Instead, I was drawn to Tim Burton and Studio Ghibli, where characters were more complex and layered. I believe that everyone has a “dark” and “light” side, and it is usually the interplay of the two that gives us our personality. I guess I just sort of explored it from there and wanted to see how much I can push that.
LUNA: What reactions do you receive from people admiring your work?
QIMMY: Some people love it and find it intriguing, and some people really hate it. The ones who love it usually tell me that it's original and unlike works they have seen before. There have been people who asked permission to tattoo images of my works on themselves, which to me is the ultimate honor! On the other side of the spectrum, it is also not difficult to find people who dislike what I do because they can be quite discomforting. Either way, I do appreciate a different perspective, so I am usually very open to all kinds of responses.
LUNA: Do you like collaborating with art galleries? What’s a past collaboration that really inspired you?
QIMMY: I love working with galleries who take the time to understand who I am as an artist, and value the importance of building strong communities where they are based. I did enjoy working with Astrid Cats from TAC Eindhoven, as well as Jon and Corrine from BeinArt Gallery. I think what sets them apart is that they really took the time to know me and support me — I think that, as an artist who flies solo, it just feels so nice to have a mentoring figure. Also, during my openings, they made it a priority to introduce me to friends, and value that connection more than the transaction, and I always admired that.
LUNA: You’re from Singapore, but you used to live in Eindhoven, Netherlands. How did living abroad influence you creatively?
QIMMY: I was schooling at the Design Academy Eindhoven and got my masters from there. I have always loved the Netherlands for how there’s always an emphasis on innovation and risk-taking. I got my big break only because of a curator in Temporary Art Center (TAC) Eindhoven, who spotted my works and saw potential in them. She provided me with a free residency and a space to show, asking for nothing in return other than to make more works. I found that so amazing, because where I grew up in Singapore, these opportunities are incredibly hard to come by.
LUNA: How did your career develop next?
QIMMY: It was from there that I began exhibiting more in Europe — in Italy, Portugal, Czech Republic, Spain — and I picked up momentum. It was in my short schooling years that I did not feel so tied down by my career, and it gave me the space and time to find my voice through my art. I think it just gave me a chance I was not able to give myself.
LUNA: You describe yourself as “a designer by day and an artist by nightfall.” It’s like you’re living a double life. How do you conciliate your creative side and your professional career? Is it hard to harmonize the two?
QIMMY: Extremely! I work full-time as a UX designer and also teach design night classes a few days a week. It feels like I am having three jobs sometimes, and it can be very overwhelming. I am at the point in my career when I really want to push myself, and sometimes it does leave me very little time for my art. Thankfully, I always have had managers and colleagues who really respect my practice and are incredibly supportive, and they always help me to find that balance I need.
LUNA: Given the peculiarity of your work, is there a specific audience you have in mind while creating your sculptures? Are you targeting a particular group of people, and if so, why?
QIMMY: Not really! So much of my full-time job is around catering to the needs of others, so as a sweet escape, my art is really a time for me to put that in the backseat. I do make my art with nobody in mind other than fulfilling a vision in my mind, and I am just incredibly lucky that there are people who love it!
LUNA: You clearly have a very recognizable aesthetic, but do you feel there’s more you need to develop? In other words, how will your visuals evolve next?
QIMMY: Definitely! Of course, there are still lots of ideas I hope to find time to execute, but I think when it's time to move on to something different, I will! I am definitely thinking of experimenting with different materials and scales in the future — who knows what that might look like!
LUNA: You describe your style as “creepy-cute.” How do you feel about the word “creepy?” Do you give it more positive, uplifting meanings than most people do?
QIMMY: I don’t think “creepy” is always a bad thing! I love this quote by Cezar A Cruz: “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” I always think that my viewers receive this creepy-cute tension differently. Being uncomfortable about something isn't always a bad thing, and I feel that it is more important to have these conversations with people who see it differently from you than to split into two different camps.
LUNA: Your upcoming show, Ice Cream, You Scream, will open in January 2022 at BeinArt Gallery in Melbourne, Australia. What’s the idea behind this exhibition?
QIMMY: I always work with food motifs, as my works have always been about drawing out the saccharine, sweet desire, but twisting it into something else. I have always wanted to work on a whole series encompassing different types of ice cream, and this show gave me the perfect opportunity!
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