Yip Cheong Fun - Biography

Biography

Born in Hong Kong in 1903, Yip arrived in Singapore with his migrant parents when he was seven months old. His father died when he was four. Yip’s mother then had to find work to support herself and her son. But times were bad and she found it difficult to earn a livelihood; so she sent her six-year-old son to Dongguan, China, where relatives could take care of Yip. However, the relatives were uncaring and Yip was neglected in the subsequent four years. Some kind-hearted neighbors at the house in Gongchai Street in Chashan, Dongguan found the child starving and sick. They fed the boy for a while and contacted Yip’s mother in Singapore to inform her about the child’s condition. Yip was then brought back to Singapore where he stayed with his mother at Sago Lane in Singapore's Chinatown. Later, he studied at a private school in Chinatown.

Yip started off as a mechanic in his younger days and later joined United Engineers as a technician and engineering supervisor. He resigned from the United Engineers in 1943 when he discovered the firm was manufacturing arms for the Japanese military. He then started his own engineering workshops at Kreta Ayer Road and Kallang in 1942. In his later years, he worked for Tien Wah Press as an engineering supervisor. After retiring at 70, he worked at a sundry shop with his wife, Leong Lin, in Chinatown.

Yip was passionate about photography, which started as a hobby to him when he was in his twenties. While working with the United Engineers, he saved up enough money to buy his first camera – a Rolleiflex, so that he could take photos for his family album. From then on, his love for photography grew. His keenness to notice change and sensitivities to the surroundings helped him to record part of the cultural landscape in Singapore before the onset of urbanization.

During the Japanese Occupation, he volunteered for service as a leader of ARPs (Air Raid Personnel) in Chinatown. His photography was disrupted as the Japanese confiscated his camera. But Yip took up photography again when the World War II was over.

Yip’s interest in photography began as early as 1936. But it was not until 1964, when he became a member of the Photographic Society of Singapore, at age 50, did Yip pursue photography seriously and send his works for overseas competition. Over the years, Yip has won more than 50 world-wide awards. The selected Awards and honors are listed below:

1971: Received Honorary Excellence Distinction conferred by Federation Internationale de l'art Photographique (International Federation of Photographic Art) 1974: Received an Honorary Fellowship conferred by the Photographic Society of Singapore 1980: Elected as the Honorary Outstanding Photographers of the Century by the Photographic Society of New York, USA 1984: awarded the Cultural Medallion for his outstanding achievements and contributions to photography.

As Vice-president of the Photographic Society of Singapore from 1966 to 1974, and as advisor to the Kreta Ayer Community Center Camera Club since 1976, Yip Cheong Fun played an active role in inspiring and guiding many young people in the art and techniques of photography. On September 16, 1989 Yip collapsed on an MRT train at around midnight, after taking pictures of the Lantern Festival at the Chinese Garden, clutching a loaded camera on his hands as usual.