"I grew up learning traditional Chinese painting, but discovering graffiti changed everything — suddenly I could paint freely on the streets for everyone to see."
- Zelam Lim
Zelam Lim (born in 1983 in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province) is a Chinese urban artist based in Shanghai. Trained from a young age in traditional Chinese painting, he discovered graffiti in 2003, an experience that transformed his understanding of creation. What began on the streets has grown into a multidisciplinary practice spanning painting, installation, and public art, where he explores the subtle balance between tradition and modernity, East and West, instinct and reflection.
His work merges classical Chinese aesthetics with contemporary expression, integrating calligraphic gestures, mythological symbols, and philosophical concepts drawn from Taoism and Zen Buddhism. Through this dialogue, Lim creates meditative works that question perception, consciousness, and the human relationship with nature.
Monumental projects such as The Peach Land in Wenzhou and Awaken in Shanghai revisit ancient tales of harmony and utopia, reinterpreting them within today’s urban landscape. Zelam Lim does not simply paint on walls; he paints between worlds, where the past converses with the present and every gesture becomes an act of awakening.