Lap-See Lam: Dreamers’ Quay, Dreamers’ Key
Yuvinka Medina, Bettina Schultz and Lap-See Lam (Editors)
English
2022
Published by Bonnie’s Konsthall (Sweden) and LENZ (Italy)
Printed by Livonia Print
Latvia
28 x 21 cm, 188 pages, color, offset, glue bound, softcover
Designed by Thomas Bush
The ubiquitous presence of Chinese restaurants overseas has long been the default and emblematic symbol of Chinese diasporic life. Chinese restaurants are the archetype of a constructed Chineseness meeting the nostalgic ideal of an ancestral homeland. In their many yet all so stereotypical incarnations, these places have acquired names that riff off a few words to embody an oriental experience: Lucky Garden, Mandarin City, Bamboo Palace, New Peking City, Crane Garden, Lotus, Ming Garden. Lap-See Lam puts herself—and us with her—in a relationship to the Chinese restaurants, challenging both the Western historical fascination and its fear by seeking out other realms. It would seem that at the heart of it all, Lam’s practice is guided by a simple question: What are the implications of something looking Chinese? This monograph accompanies Lam’s first institutional exhibition at Bonniers Konsthall.
ISBN 9791280579256