Roam to roost
Conceptual artist Jaffa Lam Laam has the face of a cherub and a cheeky demeanour to match, but it was bad luck rather than mischief that landed her in jail last September when she was arrested in Providence, Rhode Island, for trespassing.
'I was supposed to leave for New York that morning but an artist friend, Michael Townsend, said he wanted to give me a surprise,' says the 34-year-old, who was in the US on an Asian Cultural Council (ACC) research grant at the time. 'So I went along to see what it was.'
The 'surprise' turned out to be an unusual installation inside a huge shopping mall: a fully furnished flat that Townsend and seven artists had built over four years in a 750 sq ft space above a storage room - without the knowledge or permission of the management - that had gone undetected until Lam's visit.
'I was the work's first public visitor and audience,' says Lam.
'I stayed there for about 15 minutes and as we were about to leave, we heard people talking outside. The funny thing was, we didn't even attempt to hide. We just stood there, listening and hoping they wouldn't come in. Then the security guards came through the door and we were busted.'
Luckily, the ACC intervened and Lam was released after a six-hour detention while Townsend was later charged with trespassing and sentenced to probation. The pair will reunite next month when the New York-based artist will spend a month in town as part of the Hong Kong International Artists' Workshop 2008 organised by the AiR (Artists in Residence) Association, which is headed by Lam.
Last year's arrest not only broadened the Fujian-born artist's understanding of what 'art in public' means, but also reaffirmed the value of overseas artist-in-residence programmes, of which she's been a long-time advocate. Next Tuesday she'll give a talk, entitled Stars, Stripes and Fukienese Food, at the Asia Art Archive on how her experience in North America has enriched her artistic vision.
Lam graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a fine arts degree in 1999 and received a diploma in education the following year. Since then she's been active on the local visual arts scene, as an artist, arts administrator and educator. She's now a lecturer at the Hong Kong Art School. Lam has also participated in a number of artists' residency programmes overseas (including in Kenya, Taiwan and Bangladesh) and has been a pioneer in organising similar programmes in Hong Kong for overseas artists, such as AiR's 're:wanchai' project three years ago.
The five-month grant she got from the ACC, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in Hong Kong, allowed her to take part in last year's residency programme in the US, where she researched public art. While there, Lam also visited Canada for a separate art project.
She says an increasing number of local artists are taking part in artist-in-residence programmes because those who participate, such as herself, Kith Tsang Tak-ping and Leung Chi-wo, have all returned with inspiring experiences.
That's also why she wants to share her stories with other artists at next Tuesday's talk. 'Taking part in these programmes is meaningful and appealing for the artists because they get to know their surroundings at a local level, which is creatively very stimulating,' says Lam.
'Also when you have one to three months to focus on just one project, without having to worry about other jobs - as most local artists have to - you can really sit down and think about your work and future. It's crucial for any artist to have an uninterrupted, quiet time to reflect about their work before moving forward. And I think more and more local artists are beginning to recognise the potential benefits of these programmes.'
Being socially conscious, Lam also wants to use art to help locals to fight for worthy causes. In Bangladesh in 2005 for instance, she used a photo installation to help raise awareness of the working conditions and traditions of local rickshaw-pullers.
Lam also finds her conceptual art work is better received abroad. She says Hongkongers have yet to learn to appreciate art that can't be sold as an object. One of her latest projects is a plant growing in a pile of bricks. It symbolises the demolition going on in the city through urbanisation and redevelopment.
Yet a place's roots - and traditions - can't be easily severed and destroyed. She's now put the work on a trolley so that she can move it around. Other than being a practical thing to do, so she doesn't need to employ extra labour and therefore incur extra costs to transport her work, it aptly symbolises that humans are mobile and transient.
'I use my work to express my feelings towards life. In Canada, my project there was to plant more than 30 trees. It was very rewarding because my job was to ensure their survival,' she says.
Lam is now looking forward to a forthcoming AiR project that will feature Townsend, Shahram Entekhabi from Germany, Abhinandita Mathur from India, Thai artist Bundith Phunsombatlert, Cheng Yee-man, Clara Cheung, Paul Chu, Angela Su and Tse Pak-chai. They will be split into two groups who will each spend a month creating their work. The focus will be on the creative process rather than the final work.
Unlike re:wanchai, there is no particular theme the artists need to stick to and they don't even have to come up with a show at the end.
'With artist-in-residence programmes, it's about taking in and absorbing the new environment for the artists. It's okay if they can create art out of that experience, but simply experiencing it is equally valuable,' says Lam.
