Leon Lim

Today, I am going to research on Malaysia's artist which name Leon Lim. I heard from my seniors about a biography. He made me feel proud because he is also one of the citizens from Kedah, and I do so from Kedah. 

Leon was born in Kedah, Malaysia. He has been profoundly and proudly deaf since birth. His first language was American Sign Language and as a child, he drew and painted incessantly, inspired by the colorful covers of music cassettes. Instinctively, his deafness has served as motivation to examine ways of telling a story through his artwork without speaking, reading, or writing. He built his world without the need to hear sound or music by living alone at 14. 

After graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology and De Montfort University in the United Kingdom, Leon settled in New York City to explore his passion. Leon dabbles in a wide range of art forms, including painting, photography, multimedia, installations, and performance objects. His art has been exhibited in galleries, museums and major festivals including the Total Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, the CAFA Art Museum in Beijing, and the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Recently, Leon's transformative portrait work of Julian Assange was featured in the 2010 TIME Magazine's "Person of the Year" issue. Leon has worked tirelessly to make a name for him by demonstrating the real meaning of being an artist without ability to hear. He seeks to explore the dispositions and aftereffects of creation, evolution and abstraction, working with the elements of fire, water and sunlight.

The Recycled Head Anatomy in George Town, Penang

The 3(656) in Rochester, New York

The 3(656) in Rochester, New York

Lim continues working on his creative installations for further exhibitions in Asia and Europe. Lim's recent multimedia installation has been exhibited internationally at Seoul's Total Museum of Contemporary Art, South Korea in July 2008 and Beijing's CAFA Art Museum, China in August 2009. His works have been exhibited at galleries such as the John F. Kennedy Center, Washington DC, the World Financial Center, New York City, Bevier Gallery, Rochester NY and Gallery R, Rochester NY.

Lim was commissioned in 2008 to create a permanent art installation, The 3(656) for a study lounge in the new center at Rochester Institute of Technology. The installation is an introduction of Lim's inspiration from the unknown history from the dream of building a college to the reality of a college to Lim's arrival. The grand opening of the installation was launched on May 2008.

Lim is one of 17 selected artists from New York City, (including Artist Chuck Close) featured in the 2009 calendar for the Mayor of New York City. Bank of America, Bank of America's Disability Affinity Group, Pitney Bowes and Williams Lea donated their time and effort to help make the calendar a reality.