Ken Lum
Text by Camille Georgeson-Usher, Alex Alberro.
Juxtaposing image with text, Lum implores the viewer to question both visual and textual definitions of identity
Shaped by a keen sense of humanity and a wide knowledge of history and literature, Canadian artist Ken Lum (born 1956) is a visionary who has consistently challenged societal norms, the ruling classes, religious suppression and racism, among other horrors that we continue to inflict on each other. His influential work, with its focus on cross-cultural dialogue and the complexities of the modern world, resonates globally—be it through painting, sculpture, photography or public art projects that engage with individual and collective identity in the context of historical trauma and the complications of memory. This publication presents a sweep of Lum’s photographic series, at once descriptive and disruptive, personal and political, including Portrait/Logos (1984–86), Portrait/Repeated Text Works (1993 to present) and Image Mirrors (2021); as well as his work with Monument Lab, a public art project he cofounded with urban geographer Paul Farber.