Leslie Kee
Leslie Kee (born 5 April 1971) is a Singaporean photographer. He is based in Japan, having once worked in the United States.
Early life
Leslie Kee was born on 5 April 1971,[1] in Singapore. His biological parents were never legally married; Kee's mother juggled between working at a bar and raising Kee on her own. Kee and his mother lived in a one-room housing estate in Tiong Bahru. He attended Bukit Ho Swee East School and Victoria School. In his early education, Kee was reserved and seldom spoke in school. A few months before her death, Kee's mother gave him a Minolta camera — it later proved to be Kee's influence in becoming a photographer. After his mother died in 1984, Kee's maternal aunt became the guardian of him and his half-sister. Kee took a job at a Japanese electronics business. Subsequently, Kee studied at Ngee Ann Polytechnic but dropped out after one year. After his mandatory conscription in the army, Kee relocated to Japan, a country which had greatly inspired him since his teenage years.[2]
Career
Arriving in Tokyo in 1993, Kee was faced with a language barrier. To overcome it, he learned the Japanese language at a local institution. Kee applied to join a photography diploma course at the Tokyo Visual Arts School, graduating in 1997. He was jobless for around a year, until in 1998, when City Magazine hired him to work on a cover shoot featuring Takeshi Kaneshiro. The magazine company Vogue Taiwan, impressed with Kee's skills, asked him to work for them. Since then Kee has been shooting for Vogue.[2]
Known for his highly kinetic fashion images, celebrity portraits and art nudes, photographer and film director Leslie Kee (born in Singapore) lives and works in Tokyoas a renowned commercial director and photographer with works published in Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, V Magazine and other important glossies. He iconic celebrity portraits include Madonna, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Pharrell Williams, Jennifer Lopez, Yoko Ono, Zhang ZiYi, Yoshiki, Ayumi Hamasaki and Yumi Matsutoya etc His advertising clients include global brands like Gap, Adidas, Shiseido, Levis, Espirt, Lexus, Isetan, Uniqlo, Tiffany, Rakuten, Softbank, Yohji Yamamoto.
For his charity photobook Love & Hope (2011), which benefits the Great East Japan Earthquake, he was awarded the 40th APA METI Minister’s Award. A Social Media star, Kee has more than 200,000 followers on his digital platforms. He has published more than 100 photobooks and been exhibited at countless solo shows. Currently he has been endorsed as the official photographer for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Paralaymics portrait messages project, collaborating with NHK Broadcasting, as a lifework towards year 2020.
Photo Exhibitions
PRESENT BY LESLIE KEE (2001 August) SUPER ICON/SUPER FANTASY（2005 May) SUPER STARS（2006年11月） SUPER STARS in OSAKA（2006年12月） SUPER STARS in HONG KONG（2007年2月） SUPER STARS in SINGAPORE（2007年5月） FACES OF LOVE（2008年6月） SUPER TOKYO（2010年4月） MUSE OF TOKYO BY LESLIE KEE（2010年8月） TOKYO LOVE STORY BY LESLIE KEE（2010年11月） SUPER 流行通信 （2011年2月） SUPER 流行通信 in MILAN（2011年4月） SUPER 流行通信 in OSAKA（2011年5月） LOVE & HOPE（2011年5月） MUSIC BY LESLIE KEE（2011年8月） LOVE & HOPE + FIVE in HONG KONG（2011年9月） SUPER MIYUKI MATSUDA（2011年10月） FOREVER YOUNG（2011年11月） SUPER LADY GAGA（2011年11月） SUPER AKI KOMATSU（2011年11月） SUPER AKIYAMA（2011年11月） POWER PEOPLE BY LESLIE KEE（2012年2月） SUPER JIN AKANISHI（2012年2月） COLORS OF HOPE（2012年3月） SUPER A/X HOPE（2012年3月） SUPER MAMA（2012年4月） SUPER AFRICA（2012年5月） SUPER AI TOMINAGA（2012年7月） SUPER ZUCCA（2012年9月） SUPER YOHJI YAMAMOTO（2012年9月） YUMING FOREVER（2012年12月） SUPER DSQUARED2（2013年3月） SUPER BARNEYS NEW YORK (2013年８月） SUPER LOVE（2013年10月） SUPER KEITA MARUYAMA (2014年８月） 歌劇 2010-2014 -100th TAKARAZUKA REVUE- (2015年1月） SUPER TGC (2015年４月） OUT IN JAPAN x GAP (2015年４月） SUPER Y-3 ADIDAS (2015年６月） SUPER YOHJI YAMAMOTO issue 3（2015年９月） JIYOUNG 『美 GENTLE』（2016年６月） OUT IN JAPAN x 1000 LGBT (2016年７月） SUPER YOHJI YAMAMOTO issue 4（2016年９月）
References
- ^ "Biography". Leslie Kee. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
- ^ a b Huang, Lijie (9 September 2013). "Snapping celebrities a dream come true for photographer Leslie Kee". The Straits Times. (subscription required)