Ceaselessly experimental, 26-year-old Lim has been turning her hands to other materials for experimentation with staggering results. A residency at Pangolin gallery two years ago, which included a budget for casting at the Pangolin Editions Foundry, paved the way for Lim’s latest exhibition, now showing at the London gallery, The Enchanted Orchid – on view until 14 September. Three glittering new bronze works are the centrepiece of the show, including the Orchid Table, a personal favourite of the artist’s: with a solid bronze orchid hanging in its centre, it is airbrushed in colours so soft you can almost smell them.

Lim’s champion for The Wick is Pangolin gallery’s director, Polly Bielecka. “I came across Hannah’s work from a tiny thumbnail image on the back of a Royal Scottish Academy card and was instantly struck by her unique approach to sculpture. We were thrilled when she agreed to be Pangolin London’s fifth sculptor in residence which is a scheme we have been running since we opened the gallery 16 years ago to support grass roots sculpture and enable a young artist to explore casting in bronze. When Hannah applied for the residency her professionalism, distinct and confident visual language immediately won over the panel so its been wonderful to work with her over the past 18 months and see her work translated into bronze. Hannah’s sculpture is a brilliant combination of intricate yet bold forms which are brightly coloured yet subtle, covered in imagery that is serious yet fantastical.”

That bold tendency towards the fantastical is clear in a series of new snuff boxes on show at Lim’s current show at Pangolin. With painted toenails and decorative, curling forms, these anthropomorphic hybrids, patinated in greens, pinks and blues and adorned with cast silver pendants, have a wonderful, whimsical appeal. “My work is strongly influenced by my heritage. My mum is British and my dad is Chinese-Singaporean. I’ve always been particularly interested in exploring the ways in which these cultures have ‘crossed over’, focusing in particular on how these ‘crossovers’ are reflected in design, through objects, artworks and architecture.” Lim told The Wick.

An early influence in Lim’s practice for example was “the very exuberant, ornamental 18th century design style, Chinoiserie – a design trend through which European designers reimagined and imitated Chinese aesthetic culture for the European market.” Whilst Lim was intrigued by the colourful and ornate quality of the Chinoiserie style, “I was also aware of its colonial history. I became interested in reimagining the style in a more appropriate and conscientious way.” More recently, her work has expanded beyond an Chinoiserie to Chinese and Medieval bestiaries, as well as academic texts such as Anne Anlin Cheng’s Ornamentalism, a perspicacious exploration of the construction of race and femininity in western culture – which feed into the new works on display at Pangolin.

As for what’s next – watch this space. Seeing how Lim’s trajectory has evolved so far, there are bound to be surprises, new experiments, and glorious twists in store. “I have an exciting new project with a brand that will be coming out in September. I can’t say much about it at the moment but I’m very excited for people to see what I’ve been working on over the last year!”