2007/04/13
COME ON UP: WLG occupies three floors. |
In a quiet side street off Jalan Brickfields, an art gallery of growing significance is sprouting its wings. Loke Poh Lin checks out Wei-Ling Gallery.
WHO would think that a stylo-mylo art gallery would be located in the same row of old shophouses as a budget hotel and the disused office of one of Kuala Lumpur’s oldest bus companies? Not me. The disbelief continues at the entrance of No. 8, Jalan Scott: grilled with old cast iron railing, then protected by an pair of old doors which stare forbiddingly at you. You enter, take stock of the dimly lit interior filled with antique furniture and think “oh my goodness, I’ve stumbled into somebody’s opium den ...” It’s only when you walk to the back of the hall, go up a flight of stairs that you enter the realm of one of KL’s most vibrant and sophisticated art spaces. We interviewed Lim Wei-Ling, co-owner of the Gallery to find out more about the life and times of Wei-Ling Gallery (WLG). Her partner is husband, Yohan Rajan.
Q: Before WLG, there was Townhouse Gallery, which was set up in May 2002. When did it move to its present location and why?
A: We moved in September 2005, because we had outgrown the Townhouse, and also because the opportunity to move to Brickfields came about. Call it a twist of fate, but if the fire hadn’t happened, then we may not be where we are today.
Q: Why the change of name from Townhouse to Wei-Ling Gallery?
A: When the move became imminent we toyed with the idea of changing the name of the gallery to something that was a bit more indicative of the type of artists and artworks we were representing. In fact, when friends and artists first suggested re-naming the gallery after one of us, we baulked at the idea. There were a lot of discussions about this one, however, when we finally settled on using it, we realised that by associating one of our names with it meant that we were really committing ourselves to the gallery. Also, my name has become synonymous with the gallery and vice versa. There’s no running away now!
Q: How big is WLG?
A: The gallery is currently spread over three floors and is about 270 square metres. As we speak, we are renovating next door to expand the gallery sideways. Once that’s done we will double our space! Again, this demonstrates our commitment to our artists and the industry at large.
Q: Can you describe the house in more detail, how it is your father’s office and how it was converted into a gallery. We can also see evidence of a fire. What happened?
A: No. 8, Jalan Scott has been the address of my dad, Jimmy Lim’s architectural firm, CSLD, for around 15 years. Unfortunately due to the fire, which happened on April 4, 2004 (4/4/04), the top three floors of his office were completely destroyed. The ground floor was salvaged, thanks to the 12 golden pillars my dad had holding up the first floor. After the fire happened, I vividly remember my dad taking me up to the first floor (which had been burnt beyond recognition) and showing me the charred remains of what was once his office, and a large void. I was expecting him to reminisce about old times and what he had lost in the fire. Instead, he said, “Girl, look at this wonderful SPACE!!!” That’s my dad for you, the eternal optimist, always looking at things on the bright side! I guess I must have inherited that from him, for I immediately replied, “It would make a great gallery space!” The rest as they say is history. My dad then went ahead and designed and re-built this cool gallery for me. Everyone who visits the gallery is amazed by it, and I couldn’t agree more. The architecture of the gallery is an artwork in itself. In fact, my dad’s firm, JLD (they also changed their name after the fire) won an award from PAM for the design of Wei-Ling Gallery. My dad is truly an artist in every sense of the word, and I am so proud of him. His office is still at No. 8, Jalan Scott, on the ground floor. We are on the first, second and third. This is what happens when you have children!
Q: What events would you single out as the most significant ones that the Gallery played host to?
A: Each exhibition we do is different as we try to accommodate all the requests of our artists, so that we do not hamper the presentation of their works, so we are constantly doing all sorts of crazy things, like taking down and putting up walls, re-wiring the place, for example. I think one of the most memorable events would have to have been the opening of Wei-Ling Gallery. We had no electricity up to two days before the big night as TNB had to drag a huge cable underground to give us enough power to run the air-cond units, so we were all highly stressed. On opening night, we had Datuk Zarir Cama (deputy chairman and CEO of HSBC) officially open the gallery by unveiling a 9m-long curtain behind which were the stairs leading up to the gallery. As guests walked up the stairs, they could hear the voices of a choir ringing down from the gallery above. The best part was seeing everyone’s faces as they entered the gallery and felt the “space”. That was a very special event as we had on display one of the most spectacular exhibitions we had ever had, 18@8, which showed the works of 18 artists who best demonstrated the direction of our new gallery.
Q: Apart from art exhibitions, has WLG hosted other events?
A: We are predominantly an art gallery, however we have allowed the gallery to be used for alternative events such as contemporary dances, or jazz performances. We have also been approached to do launches.
Q: What are your plans for the Gallery for the next year or so?
A: The gallery calendar is booked solid for the next year and a half. The rest of this year is super as we have a stellar line-up of solo exhibitions by some of Malaysia’s leading contemporary artists. We will, of course, be launching our new space as well, but that will have to be kept under wraps at the moment. All I can say is that we will be putting together a phenomenal exhibition which will show that “Malaysian Art BOLEH!”
Q: Words of advice for art lovers please as in how to make the leap from lover to buyer?
A: I always say to first-time collectors that they have to love the piece of art, over and above anything else. However, we all make mistakes and sometimes we outgrow the piece we thought we’d love forever. This has happened to me, so I can vouch for myself. When this happens, it is rather daunting as one does not know whether they will ever be able to see any money back from something they have spent a substantial amount of money on. This is not the case if one buys/collects the works of art of a serious artist. When I say serious, I mean an artist who has devoted his life to pursuing his career as an artist, no matter how long and difficult that journey may be; they have the passion within them to continue on that path. For these artists, they live, eat and breathe their art. Whether the art is commercially viable or not is not their concern. They just continue evolving. If one buys a work by a serious artist, one can be confident that there will always be a secondary market for that artist’s works as the artist will not keep regurgitating the same work over and over again. Their works will always be sought after as they do not flood the market with them. If you know that you can always find a buyer for the artwork you have bought does it not make it more palatable then to become a buyer or an investor in the case of art? So, all you art lovers out there, if you love a piece of art, and you know it’s by a serious artist (if in doubt you can always check with me!), what are you waiting for? Just bite the bullet and you will never live to regret it!