In recent years, a global trend has taken hold as countries with statutes against gay sex have begun repealing their oppressive laws. As of September, the number of nations with anti-homosexuality laws dropped to 73 , after India overturned Section A, adopted from the British Penal Code years ago.
As a result, many people choose to lead a closeted life inside an extremely conservative, heteronormative society. Lim followed this path, maintaining two lives, until the opportunity to speak his truth revealed itself.
In and now they know , winner of the Steidl Book Award Asia, Lim gives us a look into his private life through a series of intimate photographs and handwritten verse. Here, he shares his discovery the power that comes from publicly declaring himself to the world. One night I showed them a project featuring my partner, Alvin.
My new friends were nothing but supportive and with that newfound bravery, I worked on my next project: a single staged photograph titled Till the day they know. In Asian families, we rarely talk about our feelings, unlike our Western counterparts.
I knew my family was speculating on my relationship with Alvin and with all my works dealing with homosexual themes. I always felt uncomfortable talking to him about such matters for fear of how he would see me. To some extent, my father is a representation of the conservative Asian person. It is with him in mind that my work is quieter, softer, more subtle.
