Inkgo Lam uses affordable bamboo to energize beautiful art
2D images, 3D sculptures and interactive mobiles by Inkgo Lam
Inkgo Lam ORGANs Exhibition
Inkgo Lam’s creativity pushes beyond
Some artists commit to oil painting, others to marble sculpting, the chosen medium for Inkgo Lam is bamboo. She creates 2D images, 3D sculptures, and interactive mobiles with it.
Absorb, 2024, Bamboo strips, name cards, kinetic device and small wooden stool, Inkgo Lam
Some of her work would fit on a small table, while others require a room or outdoor setting. In her creative hands, there seems to be no limit to how she can use the medium.
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Her large-scale work has appeared on the Kau Sai Chau island promenade and in Elements Mall at last year’s Lunar New Year’s festival, and her smaller works were featured in the 2024 Art Basel exhibition.
Bamboo a humble material
Bamboo is a humble yet amazing material. It can be as strong as steel yet as light as wood; it is easily cut and shaped yet resistant to wear; it grows fast and is biodegradable; and it is multicoloured and culturally linked to Asia.
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For these reasons, it is easy to understand why Inkgo has committed to all the ways bamboo can be transformed into art.
Activate (close-up), 2024, Moso bamboo, rattan, paper and thread, Inkgo Lam
Her commitment to bamboo was made manifest when she apprenticed under the bamboo steamer crafter, Master Lui Ming, who was ninety-one at the time.
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Crafting handmade bamboo steamers is being promoted as an intangible cultural heritage by the government of Hong Kong, with the number of these craftsmen ageing out.
Learning from a master craftsman
That a young artist like Inkgo is embracing this skill is encouraging.
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While under the instruction of Master Lui Ming, Ingko made A Blessing (2022), a sculpture of Buddha, the base of which is a functional bamboo steamer basket, and the hair depicted with tiny cross sections of bamboo roots.
ORGANs a multiple artwork installation
The sculpture’s head, hands and feet were carved from bamboo roots using traditional root carving techniques. A Blessing is on display at this exhibition.
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Her most recent project is ORGANs, a multiple artwork installation in the Oi! Warehouse in Fortress Hill. Her work has taken over this century-old space initially built as the headquarters of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.
Bamboo sculptures fit the spaces
This Grade II historic building is now an art gallery. The space consists of white walls divided by red brick arches, but Inkgo has made the space her own.
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Like a long-lived in home, the bamboo sculptures symmetrically fit the spaces, the many organic colours of the bamboo complementing the white walls and red bricks. Where they didn’t, she solved the problem by masking inconvenient spaces with black screens.
A blessing, 2022, Inkgo Lam
Light and shadows are an integral part of the exhibition; spotlights draw our eyes to the works, and the shadows created offer a second image to appreciate. The inclusion of preliminary sketches and her original icons of each of the five sculptures help us to understand the artist’s intention better.
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The exhibition introduction describes her creative process, beginning with the vision of the Warehouse as a living entity, where she drew inspiration from the building’s architectural duality of separation and connection
Intricate artworks
Her intricate bamboo artworks represent the five major organs of the human body – heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys – along with their corresponding functions: activation, dissipation, absorption, transmutation and elimination.
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These elements serve as metaphors for the diverse experiences that shape our lives, inviting visitors to explore the delicate intersections between architectural space, the human body and the paths of existence.
Dissipate, 2024, Black bamboo, rattan, stone, red brick, pen and kinetic device, Inkgo Lam
This exhibition surprised me in several ways. I was unaware that bamboo plants had so many colours and that there were so many ways that they could be carved, twisted, and weaved.
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That it could be transformed to look like a painting, carved into sculpture, or woven into a giant ribbon was a revelation.
Eliminate, 2024, Black bamboo, bamboo strips, rattan thread and paper, Inkgo Lam
While most galleries hide artwork behind barriers or protective glass, it is refreshing she designed in interactive elements, encouraging visitors to touch her creations.
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On my way out, it occurred to me that storing these large purpose-built artworks was impractical – now showing the effects of wear – so they will likely be disposed of after the exhibition.
Transmute, 2024, Bamboo strips, rattan and paper airplanes, Inkgo Lam
The knowledge that bamboo can be recycled is comforting, as is the knowledge that Ingko Lam will become ever more proficient, so her artwork will become even more amazing.
Text Martin Wray / Photo Cammy Yiu
