Lap-See Lam: ‘Ombres’ is scheduled to run from 11 June 2026 through 3 January 2027. It brings together established works and new works created specifically for Henie Onstad.
For the first time, two of Lam’s larger shadow-play installations will be presented in dialogue as one continuous spatial work. The exhibition also includes new blown-glass sculptures developed during Lam’s ongoing residency at CIRVA, the international research centre for glass and visual art in Marseille.
Based in Stockholm, Lam, born in 1990, draws on traditional forms including Cantonese opera and shadow theatre to examine how cultural heritage is interpreted and changed between generations. Across video, virtual reality, sculpture and installation, she explores what she describes as ‘generational loss’. Her work also connects to her family’s migration history, including the restaurant her grandmother opened in Stockholm after emigrating from Hong Kong in the 1970s.
The title ‘Ombres’ refers to ‘Ombres Chinoises’, the French name for Chinese shadow theatre as it became known in Europe in the 18th century. In the video work ‘Floating Sea Palace’, bamboo forms a scaffold referring both to temporary touring stages used in early Cantonese opera and to bamboo scaffolding used in construction in southern China and Hong Kong for centuries. The installation was developed in collaboration with Daisy Pak, a Hong Kong-based bamboo sifu who brings this expertise to Norway.
The Lise Wilhelmsen Art Award is confirmed for eight presentations over 16 years; Lam is its fourth recipient, following Alia Farid in 2023, Guadalupe Maravilla in 2021 and Otobong Nkanga in 2019. ‘Ombres’ is curated by Isabella Maidment and Xiaoyu Weng.
