Visual Arts

Is Truth Real?, presented by JPS Art Gallery, features a new group of paintings that probes the relationship between the audience and the mass media. We are living under the age of information overload, from reading the news to managing status update on our social media platforms, we are consuming information 24/7. However, have we ever considered the power of mass media in our daily lives? In this group of works, Lam draws our attention to the influence of media and how we perceive new information. All the works presented in this exhibition are the artist’s re-imagination of some of the most iconic cover stories in media history, including Life Magazine’s Moon Landing special edition single issue in 1969. Recalling the main theme, the works are also all uniquely framed with acrylic cases, mimicking the plastic cover packaging that is normally spotted in the rare magazines. The exhibition title is also a tribute to Time Magazine’s iconic ‘Is God Dead?’ and ‘Is Truth Dead’ cover stories in 1966 and 2017, respectively. The space cover stories that are reimagined in Lam’s works are the artist’s homage to the ‘God is Dead’ movement that regained popularity in the 1960s as a result of advancement in modern science and technology. The group of works can also be seen as a continuation of the artist’s fascination with human civilisation, exploring our development throughout history. With the growing debate of post-truth politics and the public emphasis of ‘fact-checking’, this exhibition appears to be all the more relevant and reflective. Presenting in tandem with the exhibition in the Art Gallery, the JPS Art Store also gladly presents Yesterday Once More, a series of paper-works that took inspiration from Lam’s childhood memories. Reminiscence of the popular culture found in his childhood, Lam uses his signature character Jiro and makes playful crossovers with characters from Japanese and Western manga, animations and films. Recalling characters that was popular in the 80s and 90s including Doraemon, Robocan, Godzilla, The Simpsons and more, this series of paperworks is a told the anecdote of Lam’s youth and evokes the collective memories of many here in Hong Kong.