JOYCE LAU

Joyce Lau is an artist from Toronto. With paper as her primary medium, Lau experiments with varying forms of construction and presentation with the intrinsic quality of the medium in mind. She received her BFA in photography, but realized that she needed to go beyond the darkroom to create the pieces that floated inside her head. She resolved that she enjoyed using her hands too much and needed to explore techniques in that realm a little further.

With her love of photography still a prominent force in her ideas, she developed her cut-outs technique. Utilizing multiple shades of gray paper, and one sheet of black, Lau overlays the sheets and hand cuts details out from the papers to create an image that resembles a black and white photograph. With the progression of this technique, additional layers and colour have been introduced into her new works.

Lau’s work has been a consistent reflection of her fascinations with culture, current affairs, history, identity, and iconography. Her work offers an open dialogue with visions of creation and deconstruction, as well as evokes contemplation on the philosophies of existence.

Lau has exhibited in Canada, the United States, and Europe. She has received grants from the Ontario Arts Council, and recently completed a residency in The Netherlands.