Providing a fresh perspective on contemporary Queer Art, FACET at Deptford’s VSSL Studio presents a solo exhibition from June Lam from August 10-27. The second of a series of five exhibitions that began this summer and continuing until January 2024, FACET presents a selection of Lam’s collages from the last four years of his practice.
Both recent collages and works created during the Covid-19 period are to be shown, demonstrating the evolution of Lam’s artistic expression while weaving a narrative that reflects enduring themes and the transformative power of collage-making. Earlier works delve into the domain of isolation, grief, anxiety, fear, contamination and isolation. At the same time, more recent pieces explore his ancestry, spiritual practice and journey as a Vietnamese Chinese person within the context of diaspora and displacement.
The FACET programme, devised and curated by VSSL Studio co-founder Benjamin Sebastian offers an exploration and celebration of queer culture in a community-focused space. VSSL opened in 2020 as a ‘site of gathering and creation’ and continuing this momentum, Lam will host workshops as well as exhibit work, collaborating with invited guest artists Joy Kinkaid, Jose Funnell and Pierre.
Says Lam: “I want to offer something to the community and share the essence of my spiritual and cultural journey. Through the expertise of external facilitators, I seek to provide a taste of these transformative experiences. Both workshops will involve movement-based practices.”
The exhibition will showcase over 25 different works and in addition, two digital prints of collages extracted from Lam’s diaries during the processing stage will be on display. These prints allow viewers to extract different words and meanings, creating their own interpretations. Lam emphasises that text can be a form of collage, where words and images intertwine, creating a fluid and interconnected experience.
Regarding his choice of imagery in his collages, Lam highlights the significance of utilising materials from National Geographic magazines from the 1970s and 80s. These images, historically rooted in a dehumanising and anthropological Western gaze upon Southeast Asian people and people of colour, are intentionally removed from their original context. By doing so, Lam engages in a form of world-building, liberating the images from their flattening and objectifying gaze. Through this process, he honours the spirits and individuals depicted, reclaiming their agency and providing a more accessible context that acknowledges their complexity. Lam sees this as a spiritual practice of reclaiming and making space for these images, offering them space for love, attention and care.
June Lam’s solo exhibition at FACET is a testament to both his artistic practice and the profound impact of collage-making within queer art. As the FACET programme continues, it fosters an inclusive and vibrant platform for contemporary queer artists,
ABOUT JUNE:
June Lam (b. 1990) is a community organiser and multidisciplinary artist of Chinese and Vietnamese ancestry, working across performance, dance, sculpture and collage. Trained in MA Sculpture at The Slade, his work centres queer desirability politics, fag effeminacy, and embodied experiences of intergenerational trauma. His performances involve leading meditations, connecting with ancestral parts, and movement inspired by deity practice. Creating intentional community spaces is intrinsic to June’s artistic practice. He co-founded grassroots trans healthcare fund We Exist and founded queer East and South East Asian arts platform GGI끼. These both provide necessary direct action to centre marginalised communities and address the classism and inaccessibility of traditional arts spaces by working outside of them.
This includes bringing the ethos of community organising into nightlife. GG 끼 emerged from a need for nightlife spaces safe from anti-Asian hate and transphobia and offers relief from the fetishising gaze. GGI끼 showcases radical live performance, visual arts & DJs with a hard industrial sound, defying stereotypes around ESEA passivity. For We Exist, June produced the group exhibition ‘In Dedication’ at The Koppel Project, featuring 28 trans artists from the UK and beyond. He is on the advisory board and programming team for This Bright Land at Somerset House and was a judge for Guildhall Futures Fund 2022. June has performed and been exhibited at Site Gallery, Volksbuhne, Performing Borders, Ambika P3, Tate Modern, Ford Foundation, The Koppel Project, and others. June has been featured in E-Flux, Resident Advisor, Gal-Dem, Gay Times, GQ, Hunger, Dazed, Vogue UK, Vogue US, I-D, Tissue, Something Curated and AQNB; and created the cover art for the fifth edition of Somesuch Stories, 2021.
VSSL Studio, founded by Benjamin Sebastian and Joseph Morgan Schofield, is housed in Enclave’s artist-run, non-profit infrastructure near the Deptford railway station on Resolution Way. Enclave hosts a community of galleries and creative organisations, championing experimental, critical and, above all, contemporary cultural practices. VSSL Studio has been a supportive home to multiple artists and projects dedicated to the holding and nurturing of time-based practices and their satellites. Most importantly, they are a queer-led organisation championing queer artists.
Post August, FACET presents exhibitions from Rocío Boliver this November and Marcin Gawin in January 2024, as well as a group exhibition curated by Benjamin Sebastian this October. Each exhibition will launch with a special evening event and ‘in conversations with special guests throughout the FACET programme.
June Lam at FACET, VSSL Studio, Enclave, 50 Resolution Way, London SE8 4AL is open Thursday-Sunday, 12-5, August 10-27 https://vssl-studio.org/ https://vssl-studio.org/ Instagram @vsslstudio
For June Lam’s workshops, look out for announcements on VSSL’s website and social media platforms. June Lam is on Instagram: @assignedfagatbirth
All images courtesy of the artist June Lam