Two subjects I am passionate about are landscape and urban environment. I have developed a theme called “Urban Cage” which began as a memory of my first home, an overpopulated city where the poor lived in cage-like homes. Over the years, the painterly cage-like pattern has become an integral part of the design motif in my landscape paintings. Recently, my painting expresses different sensibilities of urban landscapes in New York City. I compose my paintings on layers of cardboard pieces and integrate the raw texture of cardboard into the painting. My approach to using cardboard is to serve as reused material and as a metaphor for the multiple layers of human experiences inside the multitude of urban landscapes.
“ANYBODY” – Recycled cardboard paper sculpture
“Urban Queen” wearable sculpture public art.
Since 2014, I have created cardboard installations relate to a theme called Urban Cage, which began first as a memory of my first home, Hong Kong, an overpopulated city where the poor lived in cage-like homes. In this installation, viewers walk along the monotone city, reading stories of urban dwellers. A city is hauntingly beautiful and personal. Check out this installation on this video.
In the same year, I collaborated with a writer, Jessica Lynne, to create an art installation titled Feminine Lines in a Cage. It includes painting, photography, and interviews with four immigrant women, sharing their stories of finding a home in the city. The colorful sections of cardboard structures symbolized my interpretation of the four women’s living spaces. You can also read the interviews New York City: Its Women, Their Voices.
- Lani Nelson, Interview, “Constructing Home with Feminine Lines”, Sinovision.
- Lani Nelson, Interview, “Urban Cage-Hong Kong Revisited”
“Feminine Lines in a Cage”
Mixed Media on cardboard
“Urban Harmony in Spring 2022” Installation at Fulton Center, NYC.
