Tim Yip: Silent

by Feng Mao

Tim Yips outstanding work on Crouching Tiger， Hidden Dragon won him the Oscar for Best Art Direction and British Academy of Film and Television Award for Best Costume Design in 2001. Since then， Yip has been regarded as one of the top Chinese artists in the fields of stage and costume design. However， his academic background in photography still comes as a surprise to most.

Upon graduating from Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a degree in photography， Yip joined John Woos crew for A Better Tomorrow in 1986 as the films executive art director. Meanwhile， Yip also managed to freelance for a newspapers photography column， which gave him the opportunity to take plentiful behind-the-scenes photos on various movie sets.

Though today he is seldom described as a photographer， the art remains an important part of Yips everyday life as a method to communicate with the outside world. “As a photographer， I have trained myself to keep my subjects unaware of my existence while I am shooting them，” Yip explains.

Not until June 22， 2013， did Yip find the opportunity to present a big selection of his photography work to the public. Titled Silent Passenger， Tim Yips solo exhibition is now on display at Three Shadows Photography Art Center in Beijing through September 22. With Mark Holborn， a renowned British art book publisher， as curator， the world captured by Yips camera is luring visitors exploration of more than 200 photographs， installations， and videos inside a 2，500-square-meter exhibition hall.

Silent Passenger utilizes “Lily，” a fiberglass figure， as a constant theme. From a bare human model twisted into a fetal position to an ordinary Chinese girl with tears running down her face， Lily is molded with different appearances and characteristics by Yip. From Taipei to Beijing， Lily engages in various social activities such as drinking in a crowded bar， hanging out on the street， or simply lounging around her apartment.

Tracing Lilys entire lifespan for the first time， Silent Passenger motivates spectators to recall their own memories while experiencing Lilys life from birth to death– across her dreams and the real world. Lily is not about Tim Yips memories but about everyones.

“Unlike ourselves， teetering between the physical and the imaginary world， Lily wanders freely between the two，” notes Holborn. “Therefore， she is able to bridge them. Created by Yips own mind， Lily， who exists outside of lifes limits， has also become his loyal mate.”