Lodestar
Galería Mascota is pleased to present Lodestar , Victor Lim Seaward’s first solo exhibition in Mexico.
The exhibition centres on a meticulous 1:25 scale replica of a 16th century Spanish Galleon, suspended from the ceiling with its sails filled with wind as it traverses an endless expanse.
The Galleon was a technological wonder of the age, successfully fusing multiple technological advancements in engineering, navigation, weaponry and fabrication from diverse multinational masters in their respective fields - making it akin to modern collaborative projects such as the Hubble space telescope. It also stands as a metonym for proto-Capitalism, emblematic of the economic underpinnings of the era: mercantilism, the quest for wealth, and the exploitation of resources.
The ship is accompanied by a wall-based neon constellation, its schematics based on the ancient Aztec monkey constellation Ozomahtli. The Pole Star, or Lodestar, formed the eye of this monkey - the very same star used by the conquistadors to navigate across the Atlantic. The Lodestar connects these disparate cultures through a shared celestial gaze, becoming a symbol of divergent paths and a collision of worlds.
A vitrine is the final element of the show, juxtaposing 15th century Vietnamese shipwreck porcelain with full colour 3D printed deepfakes - continuing Lim Seaward’s exploration of cross-cultural artefacts and colonial histories, nascent technologies and ancestral knowledge, scarcity, mass-production, aesthetic, artistic, intellectual and commercial values.
Victor Lim Seaward (b. 1988, Kuala Lumpur)
Is an artist living and working in London. Seaward holds a BA in Art History and graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2018 with an MA in Painting.
His work is rooted in materiality, technological manufacture, and the agency of objects. Mining a broad spectrum of material culture, Seaward juxtaposes utilitarian materials with high-tech manufactured components and objects of historical significance - in order to investigate authorship, commodity, and the fluid nature of time and permanence.
Solo exhibitions of his work have been held at Brooke Benington, London (2023); the Zabludowicz Collection, London (2022); Galerie Fabian Lang, Zurich (2022); Recent Activity, Birmingham (2019); Lily Brooke, London (2019). In February 2024 Victor will present a solo exhibition with Galeria Mascota, Mexico City.
Group exhibitions of his work include: White Cube, Paris (2023); Tatjana Pieters Gallery, Ghent (2023); The Sunday Painter, London (2022); Sculpture In The City 11th Edition, London (2022/23); Josh Lilley, London (2021); Gossamer Fog, London (2018); Pierre Poumet, Bordeaux (2018)