About Mindy Tan

Published in

Tinyhumanmind

5 min readFeb 20, 2017

Mindy Tan is a photographer adept at capturing people.

Disconcerted by an Asia that is quickly forsaking its traditions for a modernity which leaves more people on the lower side of equal, she finds herself compelled to photograph ordinary people.

She looks into a human psyche caught between split-seconds of emotional revelations and harsh truths. Her photographs are straight-forward, sometimes confrontational.

Mindy began her career as a newspaper journalist. She won the Society of Publishers Asia (SOPA) award for excellence in Human Rights Reporting in 2007, before becoming a successful commercial and documentary photographer.

She has worked brands like Shell, Uniqlo, Mini Cooper and Huawei, and shoots commissioned work for various editorial clients including Reuters, the Associated Press and Die Zeit.

An ambassador to Fujifilm on its international team of X-photographers, Mindy has exhibited with Fujifilm in Cologne, and presented at Fujikina 2017, in both Kyoto and Tokyo.

Her passion is documentary and street photography, focusing on Singapore and Asia. Her North Korea photo series went viral on social media and was subsequently exhibited in France, at the Festival Pil’ours.

Her photos of Lee Kuan Yew’s death were shown in the National Museum of Singapore. She also co-published ‘Silenced Minority’, a pictorial about Singapore’s 2015 General Elections.

Her work ‘A Faded Rainbow’ documenting the voices of the last residents of Rochor Centre through photography and video footages, showed at Deck as part of the Singapore Night Festival 2017.

She is currently on artist residency with the Exactly Foundation.

PUBLIC SPEAKING & WORKSHOPS:

2017
Fujifilm X-E3 Singapore Launch, Le Meridien Hotel Sentosa
Fujikina 2017 Tokyo, Japan
Concerned Minds — Public Talk, Deck, Singapore
Fujifilm Street Photography Workshops, Singapore
“Camera, Shoot, Edit”, Funan Showsuite, Singapore
Fujikina, Kyoto: Talk Show, Asphodel Gallery トークショー・スタジオデモスケジュール
Fujifilm X-T20 Singapore Launch, Suntec City Convention

2016
Fujifilm X-T2 Singapore Launch
Nikon School, Street Photography Workshop

2011
Singapore Sports Council & Reuters, Sports Photography Workshop,

ARTIST RESIDENCY:

2017
Exactly Foundation Artist Residency: The hour before she sleeps

EXHIBITIONS:

2017
Motor Valley, a tale. An Italian Project. The Arts House, Singapore
-Play to Screen. Deck, Singapore Night Festival (Outdoor projection with Live Music scoring)
-Beijing Hutong , Funan Showsuite, Singapore

2016:
Beijing Hutong, Fujifilm X-Photographer’s gallery, Photokina, Germany
North Korea — Festival Pil’ours, Saint Gilles Croix de Vie, France.
K+ Instgrm Exhibition, Scotts Square, Singapore
A Moment of Unity, National Museum of Singapore
One by One metre square, Flaneur Gallery, Singapore

2010:
SKII Clear Water Jakarta, Tangs Orchard, Singapore
Sports Photography Exhibition, Singapore Sports Council
Behind the Wheels of survival (Manila), Jurong East Regional Library

2008:
Para Games Beijing, Volvo Art Loft, Singapore

2004:
‘Fish in a dish’, Singapore International Documentary Film Festival, Singapore History Museum
‘Fish in a dish’, 9th Malaysian Video Awards Festival, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur

AWARDS:

2008
International Photography Awards, 10 Honourable Mentions

2007
International Photography Awards, 2nd, Editorial Sports

2007
Society of Publishers Asia Awards (Hong Kong),
Editorial Excellence in Human Rights Reporting, Honourable Mention

2007–2005
Singapore Press Holdings Special Award for Excellence
- Cambodian Dragon Boat Tragedy
- Abuse In Children’s Home
- 200 Maids In Little Shophouse Of Horrors
- Filipino Maid Murder Stories

2004
Crowbar Awards 2004, Design Category, Editorial Publication, Bronze Award
Crowbar Awards 2004, Advertising Category, Narrative Photography, Bronze Award

PRINT, TV & RADIO INTERVIEWS:

2017 前线追踪，Frontline FY1718, Channel 8, Mediacorp
2016 AXN Channel, Nikon School
2016 Talking Point Ep 47: Singapore after Lee Kuan Yew, Channel 5, Mediacorp
2016 BFM 89.9: The Business Station, Interview on Ticket to Ride, When in North Korea (Kuala Lumpur) Podcast
2016 938Live, The Culture Cafe, Art Beat : One by One Metre Space
2016 91.3FM, The Living Room interview