About

Cindy Yan Lam (she/her) is a Canadian visual artist & papermaker. 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. 

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Lam holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Falmouth University, UK. In 2024, she was the recipient of an Explore and Create grant by the Canada Council for the Arts which supported her in depth explorations in hand papermaking in Toronto. Lam also travels to Niigata, Japan to study washi (paper) making under the tutelage of Master papermaker, Hiroaki Imai and paper researcher, Paul Denhoed. She has exhibited locally and internationally.

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

 

Artist Statement:

My process driven practice consists of historical craft technologies that are highly tactile and require time in their development as my work often explores themes of slowness, the passage of time and regeneration. The creative methods I employ include hand papermaking, stitching and painting. My primary medium of handmade papers are created from plants which are harvested and processed by hand. In addition, to being a  versatile art medium, paper’s role in human history of once being a highly prized technology fascinates me. Much of my work is also influenced by my daily walking practice where I attune to the many non-human lifeforms, we share our planet with.

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My practice aims to counter the frenetic pace of our highly digitized age where faster is often deemed better. In an era filled with fleeting boisterous digital images, I believe paper’s slowness, tactility and permanence bring stillness and restoration. My work invites the audience to consider paper’s materiality as an antidote to the countless hours many of us spend in front of screens. I hope the quietness of my work brings some reprieve to the viewer. Most importantly, to me, paper is the opposite of digitized screens that are fast and noisy; It is still and quiet until an artist gives it a voice, revealing its power.

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Instagram: @cylam_art 

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Works available at On the Wall, Toronto OTW