ALISON LAM

ARTIST STATEMENT

The term ’discarded’ encompasses both my experiences as a mother of two autistic children and the material choices I make in order to convey this journey visually.

In my role as a mother, I observe the frustrations and difficulties my two boys encounter as they struggle to communicate. I collect conversations through listening to their interactions with me, each other and those around them. This dialogue with my children is essential to them, to me and to others in understanding their place in the world. In my work I have aimed to make tangible that which we all take for granted: our agency as individuals with the right to be recognised and understood.

My current practice began to develop when I collected some discarded metal from the floor of a metal foundry. The irregular, fragmentary nature of these found objects reflected the way I see my children being perceived by the world around them. Like these fragments, my children are unique and, although they differ from the norm, they are beautiful in their own right. I see the potential for beauty in what others might believe to be ‘unwanted’ or ‘useless’.

My material choices - the unpredictability of molten metal and the element of chance that comes with creating ceramics - mirror the life I live: one of uncertainty, flux and change.

The film ‘The notion of the beautifully discarded’ was the beginning of my journey and research about what makes us look again and take time to process, much like that of my autistic children.

The writings of Leonard Koren on the subject of Wabi-Sabi speak to me in the way they describe the importance of not dismissing anything or anyone. From a different perspective our view of the world and the people in it can be transformed with the ‘greatness that exists in the inconspicuous and over-looked details’ (Koren, 2008).

www.alisonlam.art @alisonlamart