Jessica Lau

We are all feeling the impact of COVID-19 and as we are under lockdown, we are beginning to understand how relationships between ourselves, other people, and the spaces we inhabit can deeply shape our sense of identity. I question the act of creating as an artist and intentionally reject the urge to consume. Instead, my artistic practice has shifted from ceramic sculpture to paper collage.

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These creations prompt rumination on such social and cultural processes such as consumption, memory, and identity. Utilizing both the positive and negative images in photographic sculpture, the tension between concealing and revealing plays out at a material level. This tension is about gendered looking. Whether this is a correction, an embellishment, or form of self-mockery, the gaze is interrupted by the viewer’s own awareness of it. Interested in objects that exist as transitional material, such as studio byproducts, catalogues, and unfired clay, I am embracing the opportunity to create artwork that truly reflects this moment in history.