Marking Huy Lam’s first major solo exhibition in a public art gallery, Yield, explores material-based practice, wellness culture, and photographic theory. Primarily utilizing collage and sculpture, 2d and 3d forms oscillate and intertwine, developing a narrative framework informed by the artist’s photography background, material resourcefulness, malleability, and meditation practice. Those acquainted with meditation or Buddhist theory may be familiar with the term equanimity, which can be defined as a balanced mental state that is not necessarily easily achieved and typically requires mindful practice. Though there are several definitions, it can refer to an openness and acceptance; a calmness or equilibrium; and is generally understood to embody a balanced reaction or emotional stability. This equanimical methodology can be found throughout Lam’s practice as he strives to imbue and approach works with softness and responsiveness as opposed to rigid preconceptions, letting the materials guide him. The title of the exhibition calls on Lam’s childhood memories and a phrase often repeated by his mother in Chinese to exercise restraint and humility in various contextual situations of emotional valence. The closest English translation, ‘Yield,’ embodies this sentiment, and can likewise be applied to Lam’s practice as a temporal instinct when pursuing new lines of aesthetic inquiry – satiating creative curiosity.
Curated by Caitlin Sutherland, mesmerizing kinetic mobile sculptures evoke a spiritual calm, while their delicate physical balance and asymmetric forms are purposefully reminiscent of traditional Chinese medicinal scales. Connotations of emotional and physical wellbeing become further engrained when paired with other works in the exhibition.
With expert precision, Lam’s polished repetitive gestures and material resourcefulness utilize readily available source materials with apparent ease, obfuscating the time and labour behind each meticulous artwork. Practicing acceptance, fluidity, and patience, Lam balances the end-product while relinquishing control by exercising humility and restraint. Be it through the rigidity or size of the materials at hand; Lam patiently works in unison with them, yielding to these constraints while still bending them to his will, striking a balance that ultimately yields something beautiful.
Read Yielding to Art: Huy Lam's Journey of Reflection and Balance an essay by Tak Pham.
Yield by Huy Lam runs from August 27 - November 16
Related Programming:
October 5, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Artist reception/artist talk, collage workshop, and publication launch
October 19, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Mobile Sculpture Workshop
