Khairullah Rahim

b. 1987, Singapore
Lives and works in Singapore

Khairullah Rahim is a Singapore-based artist working across mixed-media installation, object-making, painting, photography and moving image. His explorations delve into complex strategies of resourcefulness for everyday survival in environments under constant surveillance. Through various means of collaboration and critical thinking, his practice considers mindful ways of shedding light onto the veiled narratives of his community while emphasizing the often-neglected need for opacity. Materially, he continues to experiment extensively with the sheen, reflection and refraction of synthetic polymers; most evidently through rhinestones. Recurring points of departure in his work premise around themes of desire, shame, resistance, aspiration, labour and ethics of disclosure.

Khairullah’s works have been showcased in solo and group presentations at venues including the Barbican Centre (London), Centre for Contemporary Arts (Glasgow), Tiger Strikes Asteroid (New York), Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (Bangkok) and National Gallery Singapore amongst others. He has participated in artist residency programs, namely with Salzburger Kunstverein (Austria), Facebook (Singapore), Hubei Institute of Fine Arts (China), Taipei Artist Village (Taiwan) and YOUKOBO Art Residency Programme (Japan). In 2019, his work was included in the 6th edition of Singapore Biennale led by Patrick Flores. Khairullah was the winner of the 2017 IMPART Awards for Visual Artist category. His works are in the collection of Singapore Art Museum and SUNPRIDE Foundation. Currently, he is an adjunct lecturer at his alma mater, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore and an MFA Visual Arts candidate at Rutgers University, New Jersey.

Biography information from Yavuz Gallery, November 2022