Axel Vervoordt Gallery is pleased to present, Chasing an Elusive Nature, a solo exhibition by Jaffa Lam (b. 1973), the first Hong Kong artist in the gallery’s roster. The inaugural exhibition with the gallery also marks the artist’s first solo exhibition following the invitation by Hong Kong Arts Centre, Jaffa Lam Laam Collaborative: Weaver in 2013.

Chasing an Elusive Nature spans the entire floor of the gallery and features new sculptural works and site-specific installations made with a variety of materials, including recycled crate wood, umbrella fabric, bronze, and stainless steel. Lam’s new works are presented in dialogue with some of her earlier pieces, showing her long-standing anchorage in local heritage, history, and explorations into the city’s collective power. “Taishang LaoJun’s Furnace” (2022) is a large installation consisting of 500 rock sculptures moulded from fifty stones that the artist collected along the coastline of Hong Kong. Instead of showing the original stones, Lam chose to reproduce them in concrete, bronze, and aluminium, forming an uncanny and artificial landscape on the floor. The title refers to the Monkey King, — the artist’s favourite hero — who was born out of a magical stone and was once punished in Taishang Laojun’s furnace. He emerged, however, stronger than before. Monkey King was trapped under a mountain for 500 years, which is the number of rocks created by Lam, as another way to record time. While revisiting Hong Kong’s history and Cantonese culture, Lam tends to raise the issues of boundaries and territories, as well as the loss of craftsmanship in the city.

Gallery address: 21F, Coda Designer Centre, 62, Wong Chuk Hang Road