29/06/2025

ON SUNDAY JUNE 29, 2025 theSunday Special XI

handmade goods as having a unique niche in a world moving towards cheap, fast labour,” she said. She believes that a growing number of consumers appreciate craftsmanship and want to connect with the stories behind the things they buy. “People are craving connection in what WKH\ EX\ DQG KDQGPDGH ZRUN R̆ HUV WKDW If you understand your clientele and stay WUXH WR ZKDW \RX GR WKH ULJKW SURMHFWV ¿QG their way to you. “Artisanal work has always existed alongside mass production and I believe it always will,” she added. Art for everyday life Lim has also focused on making her art part of people’s everyday environments in recent years. She recently collaborated with lifestyle store Sixth Sense on a womenswear collection made from 100% linen and ramie. The pieces explore themes of fate DQG ÀHHWLQJ FRQQHFWLRQV ZLWK GHVLJQV between the illustrative and the abstract. She also painted a mural for Uniqlo’s UTme! launch at The Exchange TRX, now Malaysia’s largest Uniqlo outlet. The mural became the backdrop for a series of customisable tote bags and T-shirts featuring motifs from her studio. “Both projects felt like milestones in GL̆ HUHQW ZD\V ´ VKH VDLG Her latest project is a womenswear capsule collection incorporating tradi tional block-printing and hand embroi dery on fabrics like velvet, cotton and linen. The slow revolution In the rush of today’s trend cycles and tech innovation, Shan Shan Lim’s approach PLJKW VHHP DW ¿UVW JODQFH QRVWDOJLF %XW in reality, it’s quietly radical. She is not rejecting progress. Instead, she is carving out a space where art and craft can remain human-centred. The value of slowing down, embracing imper fection and telling stories through hands and heart is preserved and celebrated. “No algorithm can chase a vision into the dark or bring the weight of a lifetime WR WKH ZRUN 7KDW¶V WKH GL̆ HUHQFH ´ VKH FRQFOXGHV ZLWK FRQ¿GHQFH

Their irregularities tell rich stories. A machine could replicate the look but never the essence.”

Spirit machines cannot replicate While the wider design world rushes to integrate AI tools for speed and ef ficiency, Lim remains firmly rooted in the handmade. She acknowledges that AI-generated art can be visually striking. But it cannot, she argues, replace the “essence” that lives in human-made work. “When I say a machine can’t replicate the essence, I’m talking about a kind of spirit that lives in handmade work,” she explained. “It’s the pauses in a pattern, the slight shift in pressure when a brush hits canvas or the decision to let a thread be loose rather than tight. These are the ¿QJHUSULQWV RI D VRXO LQ PRWLRQ ´ To illustrate her point, Lim spoke on one of her favourite textile tradi tions: the Gabbeh rugs of Persia. These hand-knotted carpets feature improvised, symbolic designs often created by women in tribal communities. “Their irregularities tell rich stories. A machine could replicate the look but never the essence,” she said. For Lim, this essence is tied to what she calls the “creative impulse” – an ancient, deeply human drive to make things that express emotion and memory. “It’s the same force that makes a child draw instinctively or a grandmother hum while she weaves,” she said.

Mural painted at The White Flower Retreat, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu – a celebration of nature, colour and storytelling through handcraft.

‘Handmade has a place and always will’ While many creatives worry that technol ogy and cheap mass production will drive down prices or demand for handmade ZRUN /LP WDNHV D GL̆ HUHQW YLHZ “I haven’t felt that pressure. I see

“It’s not calculated. It’s felt.” By contrast, she said, AI-generated art lacks lived experience. “AI imitation can only go so far. It doesn’t wrestle with creative blocks, chase a vision into the dark, or bring the weight of a lifetime to the work. That’s the GL̆ HUHQFH ´ Lim is also cautious about the ethics of AI training on human-made art without consent. “It feels extractive,” she said simply. Pricing creativity: A learning curve Like many independent artists, Lim has faced the difficult question of how to price her work. In her early years, she often worked for far less than her art was worth, sometimes accepting exposure or opportunity instead of fair payment. “Pricing has always been a learning FXUYH 2YHU WLPH ,¶YH OHDUQHG WR EH FRQ¿ - dent in the value of my work, but it’s taken years of trial and error,” she admitted. Today, she uses pricing tiers based on factors like size, material and scope, and tries to maintain transparency with clients. When possible, she works with LQWHUPHGLDULHV ZKR FDQ KDQGOH ¿QDQFLDO negotiations, allowing her to focus on the creative side. “But even with all that, it’s rarely straightforward. Creative work doesn’t FRPH ZLWK D ¿[HG SULFH WDJ ´

A look from her collaboration with lifestyle store Sixth Sense, combining hand-printed ŊãŨŊÿēãϰ¾ľŊϰ¾ěßϰŊüãęãłϰĢöϰö¾Ŋãϰ¾ěßϰŽããŊÿě÷ϰ connections.

Hand embroidery on velvet