Uncommon Knowledge: Eugenia Lim

How does architecture shape identity? How do artists, architects, power-brokers, nation-states, immigrants and insurgents make and mark territory? In this lecture, artist Eugenia Lim explores the space between the personal and the geopolitical, selfhood and sovereignty. Lim draws from her research, archives and experiences to navigate a subjective journey through architecture, earthworks and islands. Eugenia Lim is an Australian artist of Chinese–Singaporean descent who works across video, performance and installation. In her work, Lim transforms herself into invented fictional personas who traverse through time and cultures to explore how national identities and stereotypes cut, divide and bond our globalised world. Lim’s latest project 'The Australian Ugliness' surveys the role of architecture in marking a society and shaping national identity. The work has been titled after the bestselling book by Robin Boyd, arguably one of Australia’s most prominent architects and Modernists. Boyd’s The Australian Ugliness denounces the conservative, kitsch and decorative tastes of post-war 1950s Australia, warning against parochialism and insularity. In Lim’s project of the same title, she will build upon Boyd’s ideas, transporting them into 21st century Australia. Presented by Abercrombie & Kent, ACCA’s 2018 lecture series, 'Uncommon knowledge: artists on their special interests' gives eight artists a microphone and an hour to speak about topics that inspire their art and thinking. Featuring a trans-generational cast of artists, Uncommon Knowledge brings together elements of history, lifestyle, philosophy, sound studies, sexuality, cultural politics and more, to challenge us to think differently about society and the world around us. https://acca.melbourne/program/uncommon-knowledge-eugenia-lim/ Image: Eugenia Lim, 'The Australian Ugliness' 2018. Courtesy the artist. Photograph: Tom Ross