LAI YU TONG

Drawing upon observations of the present, Lai’s practice examines the overlooked and neglected.Everyday objects and subjects such as cars, crows, hands, and chairs feature as motifs across hisworks that are cast within the stories and scenarios that he creates around them. By looking atsomething for extended periods of time, he brings out alternative perspectives on the familiar.Recently, his gaze fixates upon the stray dogs that he encounters around a forested area close to wherehe lives. Their existence as wild, untamed and shy creatures that roam under the shadows of Singaporeintrigues him.

In a highly developed and controlled society, the presence of these dogs introduces a degree ofunpredictability, even instilling a sense of danger. Initial encounters with them ended with Lairetreating out of fear. However, following multiple visits where he would observe, photograph andsometimes feed the dogs, the fear that he felt eventually shifts into a kind of love, as he forms aconnection with these misunderstood creatures.

Storytelling makes up a big part of Lai’s approach, manifesting in forms such as drawing, sculpture,and sound. In these latest works, Lai seeks to retell his encounters with these enigmatic creaturesthrough intimate pieces of drawings and collages on various modest everyday materials—cardboard,wood, and paper. He simultaneously draws and obscures the dogs, playing with techniques of erasureand transparency that render his subjects as ghostly figures and impressions. Such loose methods ofrepresentation allude to the elusiveness and placelessness of the subjects he draws, whilst alsoallowing them to take on other identities and connotations.

Through a selection of two-dimensional works, a sculpture, a sound piece and a performance, thegallery space is transformed into a site of encounter between the audience and the dogs. Bridging thedistance between us and them through Lai’s own experiences, the exhibition encourages visitors toempathise and identify with the beings that live on the edges of our environments; out of sight and awayfrom what we are familiar with.