Tsz Kam
Cantonese Cowgirl and Her Waterbuffalo, 2020, acrylic on wood panel, 7 x 9 x 1 3/4”
Describe your artistic style in three words.
Surrealist, Queer, Folkart
What's inspiring you right now?
The imagination I've seen Hong Kong's pro democracy protesters use to turn beliefs into reality. The questions I keep asking myself about what it means to be a Hong Konger living in America, what this really important moment in history means for Hong Kong culture and its diaspora. Also houseplants are keeping me sane and providing some visual muse, but that's always been the case.
What do you do when you're feeling uninspired?
I like seeking out other artists and have conversations with them about art. I think it's inspiring to hear about why other people make art.
Tell us something unique about your process.
Sometimes when I have a visual idea, I don't really sketch it out so much as just write down some descriptions of what I am seeing in my mind with words. I never really got into the habit of sketching. I sketch to figure out how something should look, but I don't sketch as a practice. I am not a very good draftsman at all, but I am definitely pretty ok with words! I think it's definitely ok to have unconventional way with how to record visual information. It doesn't always have to be a sketch. I am also in the habit of writing about my own works, sometimes they are technical writings, but a lot of the times I would also use words to tell people the back story and meaning.
What advice do you have for other artists?
Know who you are and where you came from, what you care about is a manifestation of who you are. If you know where you came from, the things you pursue will always be a part of you, and you will never stop pursuing them, because it's impossible for you to stop being you.
Cantonese Cowgirl and Her Waterbuffalo (side view), 2020, acrylic on wood panel, 7 x 9 x 1 3/4”
Two bodies orbit (detail), 2020, acrylic on cotton, satin, 48 x 60”
Alight! Venus, Flytrap, Lionbird, (detail), 2020, acrylic on cotton, satin, 24.5 x 33.5”
If my body must the the image of your whore goddess (detail), 2020, acrylic on cotton, satin, 27.5 x 36”
Rage in a stirring void, crashes on, 2020, acrylic on cotton, satin, 24.5 x 33.5”
When the desert becomes cold (detail), 2019, acrylic on cotton, satin, 16 x 21”
A Sweet Apple Peach (detail), 2019, acrylic on cotton, satin, 28 x 28”
A Chrysanthemum Altar, 2020, acrylic on wood panel, 7 x 7”
Temple cat, 2020, acrylic on wood panel, 6 x 9 x 1 3/4”
Tsz Kam was born in colonial Hong Kong and moved to Texas at age 13. As an immigrant, Kam investigates their gender and cultural identities through Western consumerist imageries and motifs of Hong Kong folk practices. By using escapism and nostalgia as an expression, Kam reestablishes a sense of belonging.