Shall We Dance Or Talk

Original Artwork 

Handmade pulp painted papers, cotton thread on 140lb watercolour paper, 12x16". 

Collection: Creature Dreams

This series features pulp painted papers pulled in representational forms by the artist. The works also incorporate handmade Korean Hanji papers.  These works highlight the infinite possibilities of paper as a medium as various different fibres, pigments were used to achieve the different textures, colours and translucency of the papers. 

Bio/Artist Statement 

Cindy Yan Lam (she/her) is a Canadian visual artist. Her current practice focuses on working with paper as a medium. Born in Hong Kong, she immigrated to Canada with her family as a toddler. She is based in Toronto. 

Lam's process driven practice consists of historical craft technologies that are tactile and require time in their development, as her work often explores themes of slowness, the passage of time, juxtapositions, and regeneration. Her creative methods include hand papermaking, stitching, inkwork, and printmaking. Many of her abstract landscape works begin with handmade papers which are created from the raw fibre stage that Lam processes by hand. Her practice aims to counter the frenetic pace of our highly digitized age where faster is often deemed better. Much of Lam’s work is influenced by her daily walking practice where she attunes to the many non-human lifeforms, we share our planet with. 

Lam holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Falmouth University, UK. She was awarded distinction classifications for both her final major project and for her degree. In 2024, she was the recipient of an Explore and Create grant by the Canada Council for the Arts which support her further explorations in hand papermaking. She has exhibited locally and internationally. Her works are held in private collections in Canada, USA, Asia, and Europe. 

When she is not making art, you will find her exploring the residential streets, parks, and ravines in her neighbourhood with her two beloved Samoyed dogs aka her studio mates.