Even so, 52-year-old artist, Lim Anuar, who was born deaf, made a name for himself in the industry as a batik artist, selling his many artworks at exhibitions. He also taught art classes as a means to supplement his income and share his knowledge of art with others.
Then the Covid-19 pandemic struck, effectively putting an end to both his sources of income.
Things got so bad financially, Lim found himself entering any art competition he came across in the hopes of winning the grand prize.
Emotionally, he was a wreck. He lived through the last and longest MCO this year alone as his family, who was in Vietnam, were unable to return home to be with him.
Despite one crushing blow after another, Lim has stayed upbeat over his situation.
“The pandemic has been an eye-opener for me. I know it will only spur me to give my best to something that I love doing – painting, virus or not!”
To help him get by these trying times, Lim is appealing to anyone with marketing, promotions and public relations skills to help him get his artworks back out into the market so he can start selling again. He’s also looking for a workspace to function as his studio.
In an email interview with FMT, Lim touched upon the many challenges he has faced as a deaf artist and what his art means to him.
“As a person with impaired speech and hearing, art is my only smart device. You can say it is my personal voice to communicate with people, with society, and the world out there,” he says.
“Memories may fade over time, but not art; it remains etched, bared for everyone with eyes to see, ears to hear and mouths to express the language of your heart that someone with disabilities like myself can only visualise, rationalise and actualise through art.”
According to Lim, he was just 10 years old when he saw the finished artwork of a classmate and thought to himself that he could have executed it better.
Turns out that was all the motivation he needed to take up pen and paper and start sketching. He started with simple kung fu comics and eventually started sketching the things he saw around him.
He pursued his love for art and graduated as an interior architect. However, he felt the job stifling and yearned to strike out on his own and let his creativity take charge.
That leap of faith led him to exploring the beauty of batik painting, drawn as he was to the intricacy and skill the medium demanded.
Calling himself a batik artist, Lim says, “I chose batik art as batik represents the Malaysian identity, culture and heritage.”
Even though batik painting is time-consuming and a complicated process, Lim says the experience is worth the effort as he is more concerned that every artwork conveys a message or concept rather than just being “a splash of paint dripping from the canvas.”
Believing in the need to preserve the nation’s history and identity, Lim adds, “Life provides us with inspiration, we must be quick to recognise it and add our ‘voice’ to it, which I do in my own way through paintings and batik art.”
His journey as a deaf artist has not been easy. “…you face a mountain of challenges, especially in a society like ours that tends to isolate the OKU groups.”
Another challenge he faces, he says, is Malaysia’s small art market that makes earning a living from it rather difficult. Needless to say, he’s often felt like calling it a day, but for some reason he has pushed on, hoping for the best.
What are his plans for the future? Lim hopes to open an art gallery and workshop someday so he can bring the beauty of batik painting to more people. He also hopes to mentor underprivileged or disabled Malaysians in this medium.
“This is the direction of the future I see taking shape. My voice is in my paintings.”
Check out Lim Anuar’s latest works and projects on his website, Instagram and Facebook.