Tim Yip Kam-tim (born 22 December 1967 in Hong Kong), whose family comes from Shaoxing in Zhejiang, is a Hong Kong art director, costume designer and visual artist. He attended the Church of Christ in China Kung Lee College and studied art at the Hong Kong Ling Hai Art School, graduating from the Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1986 with an advanced diploma in practical photography; he worked early on as a photographer and writer for the 'Exposed Figures' column of Film Biweekly and joined the Hong Kong Professional Photographers' Association in 1989. While studying he won a painting competition, which brought him to the attention of director Tsui Hark; on Tsui's introduction he joined John Woo's A Better Tomorrow (1986) as executive art director, and so entered the film industry. He worked on the art design of Stanley Kwan's Rouge in 1987, served as both art director and costume designer on a feature for the first time on Ah Ying in 1990, and in 1993 shared the Golden Horse Award for Best Art Design for Temptation of a Monk while also designing costumes for the stage production Loulan Nu, extending his work into the theatre. In 2000 he served as both production designer and costume designer on Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; in 2001 he won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction and the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design for the film, the first Chinese artist to take both honours. He also handled art and costume design for the television series Palace of Desire and Blossom in Crimson, and won Best Art Direction at the first Asian Film Awards for The Banquet. In 2004 he designed the costumes and staging for the 'China Eight Minutes' segment of the Athens Olympic closing ceremony. His work spans film, theatre and contemporary art, and since 2002 he has held solo exhibitions at venues including the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Paris and London, and has published books such as Uncertain Time, Flourishing Flowers and Flowing White, while in recent years he has worked on the design of the Fengshen film series. Advocating an aesthetic he calls 'New Orientalism', he is regarded as one of the figures who have carried Chinese costume and art design onto the international stage.
Bringing the staging ideas of theatre and contemporary art into film, Tim Yip's costumes and settings for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won international recognition for an Eastern aesthetic; he has since moved between film, theatre and exhibition, expanding the role of the art director from a technical post into overall visual creation.
Achievements
- 1986 · Introduced by Tsui Hark, served as executive art director on John Woo's A Better Tomorrow, entering the film industry.
- 1993 · Shared the 30th Golden Horse Award for Best Art Design for Temptation of a Monk, and designed costumes for the stage production Loulan Nu.
- 2001 · Won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction and the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.