Lai Yu Tong
Daily practice as a way of life
By Ian Tee
What I find particularly compelling about Lai Yu Tong’s practice is his ability to frame and transform the mundane moments in everyday life. To quote his artist statement, he “makes works about the things he sees, things he eats, things he buys, things he throws away, and other silly things.” While some artists are identified by their unique style or an iconic body of work, I see his work as a daily practice in the truest sense. It is about his sustained engagement with idiosyncratic rituals and things, and a way of life.
His ‘Newspaper Paintings’ (2018-ongoing) sets out as a project concerned with the overproduction and overconsumption of images. Yu Tong’s intervention is simple. He paints over printed texts and graphics with white acrylic paint, until a desired composition is achieved. At times, this results in unexpected relationships between the images “found” on a particular newspaper spread. With its surrounding text removed, these images are taken out of context and float, both in terms of how they appear and are understood by the viewer. Crucially, he digests the information on a page as he paints, thus creating the work without any prior planning or digital manipulation to visualise the potential outcomes.
Lai Yu Tong, ‘Newspaper Paintings (Rolex)’, 2019, exhibition view at Lasalle Graduation show 2019. Image courtesy of the artist.
Lai Yu Tong, ‘Newspaper Painting No.55, 1 and 66’, 2018-2019, synthetic polymer paint on newspaper, 76 x 62cm each. Image courtesy of the artist.
Even though Yu Tong started the ‘Newspaper Paintings’ with stricter rules about how entire images have to be retained, as the project progressed his approach became freer. For instance, features within a photo can be isolated, opening up possibilities for compositions that break from the publication’s rigid grid layout. The artist has also observed patterns in the printing cycle, such as how specific luxury watch or jewelry advertisements would appear fortnightly in the centrefold of the Sunday papers. This feeds his interest in systems that stay invisible unless one seeks them out.
“I see Lai’s work as a daily practice in the truest sense. It is about his sustained engagement with idiosyncratic rituals and things, and a way of life.”
Lai Yu Tong, ‘Cardboard Lamps & Adequate Images’, 2020, cardboard, laser print on cartridge paper, clear scotch tape, LED bulb, electrical components, dimensions variable. Image courtesy of the artist.
Speaking about his tendency to use non-precious materials such as newspaper or cardboard, Yu Tong highlights modesty and mediocrity as important qualities in his work. This is most evident in ‘Cardboard Lamps & Adequate Images’ (2020), an installation made out of cardboard boxes, LED bulbs and thumbnail-sized printed images taken from the artist’s phone. He describes the project as a reflection “on various personal experiences of living in Singapore, graduating from art school, getting a job, moving house and more recently, staying home during the pandemic”.
In a sense, the cardboard box can be understood for its function, as a container to store and carry one’s possessions. Yet, I also associate the material’s ephemerality with the transient nature of time. This is because a work exists in a particular moment, as an assemblage of humble objects and simple gestures. What the artist offers is a sincere touch, and that is enough.
“What the artist offers is a sincere touch, and that is enough.”
Lai Yu Tong, ‘Cardboard Lamps & Adequate Images’, 2020, artist book, 40 pages, 3-colour risograph print, published by Temporary Press. Presented as part of an eponymous exhibition staged at Comma Space, Singapore, in November 2020. Image courtesy of the artist.
Lai Yu Tong, ‘How To Make A Clock Spin Anti-clockwise’, 2016, self-published zine, 26 pages, xerox print on office paper. Image courtesy of the artist.
Another important aspect to Yu Tong’s creative output is the making of zines and artist books. He sees it as a medium and a form of exhibition space. The publication released in conjunction with ‘Cardboard Lamps & Adequate Images’ contains an instruction manual on how to build his cardboard lamps; while another zine from 2016 details the steps to make a clock spin anti-clockwise. This Do-It-Yourself ethos is at the heart of his project, an invitation to ponder and play.
Click here to read our dialogue with Lai Yu Tong.
