KELVIN LIM
Born 1971, Singapore

I have been a full-time photographer since 2002, commissioned for portraiture and figurative work. Despite photography’s immediacy and incredibly detailed rendition, I’ve always imagined: what if I could make these images directly, without the camera?

I paint and draw to satisfy this innate desire to visualise with my hands. As I grew in creativity and as a person, I became increasingly moved by emotive expression over explicit illustration. Photography, with its incessant drive for realism, became a destructive process – I found myself having to destroy surface distractions to uncover underlying mood.

With traditional media, I may be looking at something real, but the hands connect directly to imagination, resulting in expressions that happen from within. On a blank canvas, I realise the marks I make can only be mine. The final image could look unfinished, yet feel complete in its honesty. It was a deeply intimate experience which felt both liberating and confronting.

Projects

2019 : “Uninhibited” – Exhibition and Book Launch, Singapore

2017 : “Who Cares?“, with Exactly Foundation – Residency, Exhibition and Book Launch at Objectifs, Singapore

2016: “Portraits of Love“, with Home Nursing Foundation – Exhibition and Book Launch at Raffles City, Singapore

2015: “Hope and Courage“, with Breast Cancer Foundation – Element Art Space, Singapore

Commissioned work: https://kelvinlim.com.sg/portfolio/portraits/