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Speaking out through art | theSundaily
THE first season of the American reality show Work of Art: The Next Great Artist enjoyed a good run on TLC (Astro channel 707) earlier this year.
It showcased the efforts of 14 budding artists competing for a chance at a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, as well as the US$100,000 (RM300,000) cash prize.
The second season, which is currently screening in the US, has among its contestants a Malaysian-born artist residing in New York.
Leon Lim, 31, is born deaf, a condition that he has embraced and turned to his advantage, tuning his concentration into the visual, rather than auditory, world.
In a candid email interview, Lim recounts his earliest childhood experiences with art.
"Between [ages] three and four, [it] was easy to capture everything and to get attracted to form, pattern, and colour of objects. My deafness developed my strong sense of seeing," he said.
He also learned to develop a sense of independence, which would serve him well later in life.
"When I found the objects that captured my imagination, I always asked myself how it was made, where it came from and why it is formed. I never asked my parents or anyone for an answer because they or others around me never understood what I saw or what I thought."
From a young age, Lim was already collecting objects and creating artwork, and even won several art competitions in his primary schooldays in his home state of Kedah.
However, his natural artistic talent was not exactly encouraged by his family. He began to dream of living by himself from the age of 10.
"I was very tired of being told to 'be quiet' and 'that's nothing important to know', and seeing doctors and bomohs to cure my hearing disability," he said.
Escape came in his teens when Lim told his parents he wanted to go to high school in Penang.
"My parents asked why, and I lied and said: 'Deaf school in Penang has good teachers and many smart students unlike my school in Alor Star'. Going to Penang (was) my way to find freedom."
At just 14, he moved to Penang and lived by himself for six years. Although most teenagers would be overwhelmed by the experience, Lim embraced the chance to live alone and build his own world.
"I was encouraged and inspired by freedom and being independent," he said.
It all came to a head when he left for the US on a five-year full scholarship to the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1998.
"I realised that being a deaf adult and to survive as an artist in Malaysia was almost impossible," he explained.
Lim studied a wide range of artistic media. His works range from paintings to sculptures to photographs.
"I like experimenting with a wide range of art media and materials, because multicultural and multidisciplinary approaches are part of my artistic practice," he said.
"I create artwork by seeing, being inspired, thinking and expressing my specific perspective."
In December last year, Lim's portrait of infamous WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange propelled him into the limelight when it appeared on the cover of TIME magazine.
Lim was inspired by Assange's passion for truth and provocation, relating it to how he "found the real world by having global knowledge and breaking the barriers".
The portrait was painted on wood, based on an artistic photograph of Assange, and was later scanned into an image for the cover.
"[It] is 'transformative work' because I used the photo of people taken by a photographer, not me," Lim said. "Transformative work is famous in Jeff Koon and Richard Prince's works."
Having his work selected for TIME was a lucky break because, according to him, the magazine never selects works from people outside or not among its panel of freelancers.
Taking part in Season 2 of Work of Art: The Next Great Artist has also helped raise his public profile.
"Making artwork and being on a reality show is another new way to reach viewers and to be found by art collectors," he said.
"When I was on the show, I felt like I [had] an exhibition in a prestigious museum, because the show attracted more than 1.3 million viewers last year."
On the show, as in real life, Lim's deafness is not an issue. But he frequently introduces himself as "proudly and profoundly deaf", taking complete ownership of the word.
"The art world doesn't concentrate on [an] artist's appearance, physical identity or gender, [but on] the idea and concept of a work of art," he said.
"Chuck Close can't walk and [uses a] wheelchair. Many people like his work because of his ideas and material, not [out of] pity because he can't walk.
"I'm proud to be deaf because being deaf is a new culture and a source of great pride. I can drive without hearing. I lived alone at 14. I don't need [the] ability to hear sound or music to live happily and have a job.
"People think being deaf is hopeless or jobless. That's the wrong information and traditional image about being a deaf person. Therefore, I emphasised my deafness in my biography to increase awareness."
Lim hopes that in the future, he can travel and create art installations around the world.
He also maintains a website featuring his latest projects, at LEON LIM | ART - DESIGN - PHOTGRAPHY | ARTIST
THE first season of the American reality show Work of Art: The Next Great Artist enjoyed a good run on TLC (Astro channel 707) earlier this year.
It showcased the efforts of 14 budding artists competing for a chance at a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, as well as the US$100,000 (RM300,000) cash prize.
The second season, which is currently screening in the US, has among its contestants a Malaysian-born artist residing in New York.
Leon Lim, 31, is born deaf, a condition that he has embraced and turned to his advantage, tuning his concentration into the visual, rather than auditory, world.
In a candid email interview, Lim recounts his earliest childhood experiences with art.
"Between [ages] three and four, [it] was easy to capture everything and to get attracted to form, pattern, and colour of objects. My deafness developed my strong sense of seeing," he said.
He also learned to develop a sense of independence, which would serve him well later in life.
"When I found the objects that captured my imagination, I always asked myself how it was made, where it came from and why it is formed. I never asked my parents or anyone for an answer because they or others around me never understood what I saw or what I thought."
From a young age, Lim was already collecting objects and creating artwork, and even won several art competitions in his primary schooldays in his home state of Kedah.
However, his natural artistic talent was not exactly encouraged by his family. He began to dream of living by himself from the age of 10.
"I was very tired of being told to 'be quiet' and 'that's nothing important to know', and seeing doctors and bomohs to cure my hearing disability," he said.
Escape came in his teens when Lim told his parents he wanted to go to high school in Penang.
"My parents asked why, and I lied and said: 'Deaf school in Penang has good teachers and many smart students unlike my school in Alor Star'. Going to Penang (was) my way to find freedom."
At just 14, he moved to Penang and lived by himself for six years. Although most teenagers would be overwhelmed by the experience, Lim embraced the chance to live alone and build his own world.
"I was encouraged and inspired by freedom and being independent," he said.
It all came to a head when he left for the US on a five-year full scholarship to the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1998.
"I realised that being a deaf adult and to survive as an artist in Malaysia was almost impossible," he explained.
Lim studied a wide range of artistic media. His works range from paintings to sculptures to photographs.
"I like experimenting with a wide range of art media and materials, because multicultural and multidisciplinary approaches are part of my artistic practice," he said.
"I create artwork by seeing, being inspired, thinking and expressing my specific perspective."
In December last year, Lim's portrait of infamous WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange propelled him into the limelight when it appeared on the cover of TIME magazine.
Lim was inspired by Assange's passion for truth and provocation, relating it to how he "found the real world by having global knowledge and breaking the barriers".
The portrait was painted on wood, based on an artistic photograph of Assange, and was later scanned into an image for the cover.
"[It] is 'transformative work' because I used the photo of people taken by a photographer, not me," Lim said. "Transformative work is famous in Jeff Koon and Richard Prince's works."
Having his work selected for TIME was a lucky break because, according to him, the magazine never selects works from people outside or not among its panel of freelancers.
Taking part in Season 2 of Work of Art: The Next Great Artist has also helped raise his public profile.
"Making artwork and being on a reality show is another new way to reach viewers and to be found by art collectors," he said.
"When I was on the show, I felt like I [had] an exhibition in a prestigious museum, because the show attracted more than 1.3 million viewers last year."
On the show, as in real life, Lim's deafness is not an issue. But he frequently introduces himself as "proudly and profoundly deaf", taking complete ownership of the word.
"The art world doesn't concentrate on [an] artist's appearance, physical identity or gender, [but on] the idea and concept of a work of art," he said.
"Chuck Close can't walk and [uses a] wheelchair. Many people like his work because of his ideas and material, not [out of] pity because he can't walk.
"I'm proud to be deaf because being deaf is a new culture and a source of great pride. I can drive without hearing. I lived alone at 14. I don't need [the] ability to hear sound or music to live happily and have a job.
"People think being deaf is hopeless or jobless. That's the wrong information and traditional image about being a deaf person. Therefore, I emphasised my deafness in my biography to increase awareness."
Lim hopes that in the future, he can travel and create art installations around the world.
He also maintains a website featuring his latest projects, at LEON LIM | ART - DESIGN - PHOTGRAPHY | ARTIST