Photographer Steven David Lim lives and works in London, UK. It is from there that he constantly embarks on visual journeys to explore and learn more about life and other things. Which already explains the name of his photography website Of Life And Such. Originally from Singapore, Steven arrived in London about 11 years ago to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Maybe it was the introduction to working so much with your physical and mental self in drama training that brought him on his ongoing quest to discover the secrets of life, bit whatever it was, it did trigger Steven to focus on photography more than acting.
Steven David Lim is not exactly a beginner when it comes to photography. He has been toying with cameras ever since he was 17 years old and his great exploration drift has resulted in becoming an excellent complete self-taught photographer. And that goes as well for his editing and retouching skills. Steven is always searching for new things to learn of to develop his skills even more, and that is one of the reasons that his Specimen series was brought to life. To practice and test his Photoshop skills. But that is only one reason. There is much more to Specimen than that alone.
Steven David Lim was musing on the though of hos photographers capture fleeting moments of reality in time and hold them static for eternity. It is in fact much like scientists and exploration travelers would document there findings. Immortalizing the things you discover in life. That is exactly what man is good at. So, taking the essence of that thought, Steven tried to create a series of photos that literally embodied that. The first set he created was Slumber. A series of people who are actually asleep in their own environment. “Slumber revealed to me an innate sense of vulnerability, peace and beauty in every one of the sleeping forms, regardless of gender, race and physique. There was a wonderful sense of suspension in time,” Steven explains.
It was this discovery and this understanding that made Steven start to think of something else: preservation. “The idea of preservation triggered a cascade of thoughts - formaldehyde, biology labs, specimen jars etc. I toyed around with using uniform jars and found that differently shaped glass vessels added to and reinforced the individuality of the subjects.” Specimen is a series of photographs that is unapologetically a product of digital retouching which does add a different level of irony to the concept. Steven made a point of that fact that his subjects had to be naked. The nudity of the models made them look pure and vulnerable, as flawless as nature meant them to be. The transparency and brittleness of glass enhances the sense of fragility of its content. A wonderful series of photos by a very skilled and talented photographer, that makes you realize how wonderful human beings really are. –BM-
STEVEN DAVID LIM | BEAUTIFULMAG
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