The Singapore-born, Beijing-based economist turned artist and market researcher shares how growing up both rich and poor shaped her outlook on life and museum-worthy art
There’s no success without hardship, goes the saying by the Greek tragedian Sophocles. Huiyi Lin, one-half of the Beijing-based artistic duo Chow and Lin, has seen her and her partner’s works acquired by New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMa). They have also exhibited at Arles Les Rencontres De La Photographie, the world’s first international festival for photography, and been invited to present at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok. However, why their works have attracted the attention of visual art lovers and museum curators alike can be attributed to the fact that they reflect the pair’s shared personal experiences.
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As a child, Lin grew up in a relatively well-off environment. That changed when her family met with financial difficulties when she was in primary school. Her father, who ran his own business, would eventually declare bankruptcy. Stefan Chow, Lin’s partner in both life and art, had a similar experience. It was this, and many other commonalities, which would help them bond quickly when they met as students at the National University of Singapore.
In 2010, the pair would release the first works of their project, The Poverty Line. The initial intention was to showcase the daily food choices of people living at the poverty line across six continents, 36 countries and territories over a period of ten years. From tomatoes to instant noodles, everyday food items are photographed on top of a local newspaper from the day of the photoshoot.
