“Play Pretend” is a mixed-media solo exhibition that explores notions of camouflage through avenues of surrealism and mimicry. The imagery and motifs used are inspired by kitsch and Americana aesthetics. Gingham patterns, striped tube socks, ribbons and braids, and hunter’s camo are present. Both materially and conceptually driven, the body of work prompts the question: what does it mean to camouflage? What does it mean to adapt? To morph? To imitate? To Play Pretend?
The materiality of the work quietly evokes tension through its tactility, visceral forms, and uncanny pairings. These pairings function as a means of illustrating the crossroads of two extremes and the dynamics between them. The artwork presents fluxing identities, exploring transitions from organic to camouflaged states. Through this exploration, Play Pretend confronts underlying themes of gender, performance, adaptation, submission, and autonomy.
Sara Lam is a multimedia artist based in Houston whose work is influenced by the culture and aesthetics of her Southeast Texas upbringing. With a background in oil painting, she has ultimately evolved her intuitive studio practice into a symbiosis of drawing, painting, sculpture, and found object assemblage.
Lam’s practice is both materially and contextually driven, using specific mediums and motifs to create works that tease notions of surrealism and mimicry. The contextual elements of the work confront themes of gender, culture, and autonomy; drawing inspiration from the over-saturated, ultra-traditional, and ever-prideful nature of Texas. Though the work addresses external forces, it is filtered through a lens of personal experience and reflection.
Lam holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently a member of BOX13, a non-profit artist-run gallery and studio space. Lam has shown work at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Sam Houston State University, and has participated in solo and group exhibitions across the United States.
Website: sara-lam.com
Instagram: @saralamstudio
This event is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.