Curiosity Box
2013 - Ongoing
New York
New York: Non Private Non Public | 15 March - 26 May, 2013 | Apartment in New York
The Curiosity Box started during a three-month residency in New York supported by the Asian Cultural Council. This was Lam Tung Pang’s first visit to the U.S., and his first time away from home since returning to Hong Kong after completing his studies in London.
During the residency, Lam transformed the studio and apartment where he stayed into a ‘non-public, but at the same time non-private space’ with objects, drawings, video, and fleeting activities such as cooking and travelling that reflected on his time in the U.S.
San Francisco
“Curiosity Box is like a suitcase, where I expand the content by questioning, critiquing or playing with my situations.”
- Lam Tung Pang
Making the Curiosity Box | June 12 - December 21, 2013 | Chinese Cultural Centre of San Francisco
In San Francisco, Lam continued the project by including works created in the apartment along with video, photographs, and a group of sketches of the Rocky Mountains with found objects that he created in response to the 58-hour train ride he took between New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.
Hong Kong
“Curiosity comes when habits left”
- Lam Tung Pang
The Curiosity Box project was expanded in Hong Kong with The Hometown Tourist, for which Lam stationed himself at New Capital Hotel in Wan Chai for one month. Leaving his home in Sha Tin, he checked into a Wanchai love hotel and wandered Hong Kong as a “tourist,” turning his room into a ‘suitcase’ that could be visited by appointment.
A parallel exhibition was held at Counter Space in Zurich, where the artist sent letters and souvenirs obtained through his aimless wanderings in the city. Through this experience, Lam reconstructed his connection with the city in order to reflect on the dramatic changes that it has seen in recent years.
