Lam considers himself both the 'writer and reader' of what he creates, inviting the viewer into non-linear narratives created by his immersive series. His distinct bodies of work are always inspired by his observations and memories of his immediate surroundings, and he often blends traditional and non-traditional media.
Read MoreLam initially gained recognition as a painter, using a minimal and playful approach to dwell on the act of observation itself. Balcony 11a (2005), completed in his years in London, shows a charcoal and ink line drawing of a lone figure staring out across a balcony. Another figure, regarding the moon, is shown in Post-mind (2003). Both drawn on plywood in large scale, Lam aimed to show both distance and closeness in the act of looking, mirroring his process as an artist—creating a 'visual conversation' between his own personal experiences and a more universally-regarded truth.
In 2012, Lam was awarded a fellowship by the Asian Cultural Council; a residency in New York with the aim of visiting American museums to see their Chinese and Japanese paintings. What resulted instead was a 2013 installation that transformed his apartment into a semi-public space with collaborations from friends and strangers, documenting his experience in the American city. The space was covered with drawings, objects and pieces of writing—one of which, 'One country, one system', was scrawled on the toilet bowl—all appearing as if organically sprouting from the walls themselves.
The project grew into a series called The Curiosity Box (2013), which included an iteration in San Francisco and then finally in Lam's home of Hong Kong, exhibited as The Hometown Tourist (2015). In this final stage of the project, the artist moved into Wan Chai's New Capital Hotel for five weeks in order to recreate the sense of estrangement he felt in New York City. The installation reflected on the dramatic changes occurring around him in Hong Kong's changing socio-political environment, leading to 2047, when its independence from China is set to expire.
Building from the cyclical narrative he began in The Curiosity Box, Lam created the series Saan Dung Gei (2019) for Blindspot Gallery in Hong Kong with curator Abby Chen, who he met in San Francisco. The works were inspired by a train journey on the newly instated high-speed railway from Hong Kong to Beijing, which features 20 minutes of below-ground darkness.
Landscape in this series became metaphorical for the body and the existential darkness he felt along his journey; represented in Landscape in operation (2018) by surgeons looming over hills and trees. Time was also paused in the gallery, represented in the looping video A Day of two Suns (2019) and OTALEO clock (2019), a clock which never reaches 12, permanently stuck before reaching a new day.
