Ryan Benjamin Lee (b.1997)
is an artist-animator from Singapore. His works playfully balance between spectacle and demystification, propaganda and cynicism. His iconoclastic use of printed material, particularly found images, photographs and books, are intertwined with drawn animation and reimagined as an abstract world refracting in multiple directions.Awards
2024
> Jury Award International (Honourable Mention) GIRAF20, Canada 20242023
> Best Editing Award National Youth Film Award, Singapore 20232022
> Jules Engels Student Scholarship 2022 - 2023> The United Plankton Scholarship 2022 - 2023
2021
> National Arts Council Scholarship Award 2018 - 2023> Lillian Disney Scholarship 2018 - 2022
Selected Curriculum Vitae
2024
> FILMMAKER GIRAF20, screened at Indie Animation Mixtape: Side B on November 16 at the Globe Theatre in Alberta, Canada.
> MOTION GRAPHIC DESIGNER & ILLUSTRATOR Allkins: All Walks of Life, produced a motion and illustration for Allkin’s annual report 2023 with direction and support from Currency Design Studio
> ANIMATOR & ILLUSTRATOR On The Shoulders of Giants, produced style frames and animation for several episodes of the AsiaOne documentary series.
> FILMMAKER Fantasia Festival, screened at Animation Plus and Circo Animato 2024, from 18th July to 4th August 2024 in Montreal, Canada.
> FILMMAKER Stuttgart Trickfilm International Animated Film Festival 2024, screened at the Student Competition 4, from 24th to 27th April 2024 at Gloria 2 in Stuttgart, Germany.
> FILMMAKER Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival, screened at the Short Film Competition, from 10th to 13th April 2024 at Lotte Gold View, Mega GS Cao Thang and Beta Cinema Quang Trung in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
2023
> FILMMAKER Singapore International Film Festival, screened at Southeast Asian Short Film Competition Programme 3, on 9 December 2023 at Oldham Theatre, Singapore.
> FILMMAKER Taichung International Animation Festival, screened from 13 to 21 October 2023, at the Vieshow Cinema in Taroko Mall, Taichung.
> FILMMAKER Seoul Indie Ani-Fest, screened from 14 to 19 September at the 19th Seoul Indie-AniFest2023.
> MOTION GRAPHIC DESIGNER BandLab, produced a motion graphics advertisement promoting BandLab’s new fan out reach feature.
> FILMMAKER AFA x EYE: Experimental Shorts, screened at Asian Film Archives, Singapore on 30 June 2023.
> FILMMAKER East East 2023, screened at Tokyo Science Museum from 17 to 19 February 2023.
2022
> MOTION GRAPHIC DESIGNER BandLab, produced four motion graphics advertisements promoting BandLab’s new mixing and sampling features.> FILMMAKER FUSE Festival 2022, screened as part of its Official Selection in Karlovac, Croatia in 3 to 5 June 2022.
> MOTION GRAPHIC DESIGNER This is Jazz, produced the title sequence and motion graphics for the web series commissions by The Esplanade — Theatres by the Bay and produced by MAKO Productions.
> FILMMAKER Athens Digital Arts Festival 2022, screened as part of specially curated programme themed around ‘FutuRetro’ in the last week of May 2022.
> FILMMAKER TOTAL ECLIPSE PLUMAGE, a karaoke art project produced with Nor and organised by monzoom.xyz. It was released online from 21 March 2022.
2021
> ARTIST An Uncanny Assortment of Miscellaneous Objects, an exhibition curated by Jaxton Su and Chen Nien-Ting presented at VTSalon, Taipei from 25 Dec 2021 to 12 Feb 2022 and from 4 to 26 June 2022 at Starch, Singapore.> ANIMATOR Tiramisu at Baybeats 2021, produced visuals for Singapore band, Tiramisu’s 25th anniversary at Alternative Music Festival, Baybeats 2021 held at The Esplanade — Theatres by the Bay from 4 to 7 November 2021.
> MOTION GRAPHIC DESIGNER I Kid You Not, produced the title sequence and motion graphics for a web series commissioned by The Esplanade — Theatres by the Bay and produced by AMOK Productions.
> FILMMAKER ABSTRACTS: Filmic Readings of Something New Must Turn Up exhibition, made in response to Chng Seok Tin: Drawn Through a Press (7 May - 22 August 2021), featured in the exhibition, Something New Must Turn Up: Six Singaporean Artists After 1965, at National Gallery Singapore.
> ANIMATOR HABIT©AT Installation, a collaboration with Atelier HOKO to produce an animated installation expanding on their 2014 publication, HABIT©AT. The installation will be presented at the Venice Design Biennale from 22 May to 21 November 2021.
> ARTIST We Read Too Much Into Things, an exhibition curated by Berny Tan and presented at 27-13 Theatreworks, Singapore from 21 January to 28 January 2021.
> ANIMATOR A Beginners Guide to Art Books, produced the title sequence for the seminar-based web series presented by Currency Design in conjunction with Singapore Art Book Fair.
2020
> FILMMAKER Fest Anča, screened in competition as part of Anča Award + Anča Student Award from 27 to 30 August 2020.2019
> FILMMAKER Ottawa International Animation Festival 2019, screened as part of World Student Panorama in Ottawa, Canada from 27 to 29 September 2019.> ARTIST Objects in the Mirror, an exhibition at Supernormal, Singapore from 12 September to 12 October 2019.
> ARTIST Browsing Copy, a publication of 8 limited edition artists books held from 8 to 9 June 2019 at 97 Loyang Drive, Singapore in collaboration with Currency Design.
> ARTIST Singapore Art Book Fair 2019 (SGABF) collateral design, designed a pamphlet in collaboration with SGABF and Currency Design.
> ARTIST Melting! Melting!, an exhibition held in a 40ft Freezer container at Gillman Barracks, Singapore from 15 March to 7 April 2019.