He’s been
profoundly deaf since birth, but that didn’t stop this New York-based artist. Born in Kedah, Malaysia, Leon, 31 learned American Sign
Language as a child. He drew and painted
incessantly, inspired by the colorful covers of music cassettes. Instinctively,
his deafness has served as motivation to examine ways of telling a story
through his artwork without speaking, reading, or writing. He built his world
without the need to hear sound or music by living alone at 14. After graduating
from Rochester Institute of Technology and De Montfort University in the United
Kingdom.
Leon settled in New York City to explore his
passion. Leon dabbles in a wide range of art forms, including painting,
photography, multimedia, installations, and performance objects. His art has
been exhibited in galleries, museums and major festivals including the Total
Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, the CAFA Art Museum in Beijing, and the
John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Leon's
transformative portrait work of Julian Assange was featured in the TIME
Magazine's "Person of the Year" issue. Leon has worked tirelessly to
make a name for himself by demonstrating the real meaning of being an artist
without ability to hear. He seeks to explore the dispositions and aftereffects
of creation, evolution and abstraction, working with the elements of fire,
water and sunlight.
