Local artist Lai Sio Kit first picked up a brush at the age of six. When he was young, he really admired people who could paint and wanted to experience it too. The artist says that his skills were not outstanding, but he was dedicated to the art. But when he told his family that he wanted to be a painter when he grew up, they didn’t really take him seriously.
After graduating from a local high school, Lai was admitted into the Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology. Since he felt that his first year in college was not too stressful, Lai spent his free time touring the streets and alleys of the Chinese capital and visiting the city’s art galleries and museums. He also realized that he wasn’t really interested in design, and decided to transfer to the China Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Lai spent seven years in Beijing and finished his master’s degree. Being satisfied with his level and having invested so much time in studying art, Lai decided that he was not going to waste all his efforts and hence started his journey to become a full-time artist.
Lai describes his technique as leaning towards the traditional realistic style. But he also wants his works to be more novel and wants to develop his own techniques and methods based on traditional oil painting, including his own style of brushwork and use of colours.
Among Lai’s works, the most well known are those portraying roof terraces. The artist reveals that he started painting the terraces in Macau because he was missing his own city and wanted a subject that represented it. Initially, he began with the unauthorized structures on the city’s building’s rooftops, and today he has already developed four to five series from the concept.
“These works, be it about terraces or unauthorized structures, actually relate to the idea of ‘city’,” he explains.
Since coming back to Macau in 2009, Lai has also been teaching part-time in institutions such as the Macau Museum of Art, investing the rest of his time in creating art works. He thinks that it is “very difficult” to be an artist in Macau, and generally, if an artist does not work in other sectors, it is not easy for them to have a stable income.
“The idea of collecting art pieces is not strong in Macau, therefore we can relax a little bit (in terms of creating new pieces). Although I still produce a large amount of work like other full-time artists, most of them are for exhibition only. I don’t often sell much of my work,” he explains.
Lai says if an artist wants a more comfortable life, they have to be prepared to compromise, something he does not want to do.
“For example, some creations that come out of my own thoughts are not going to be understood and comprehended by all, but there are others that are easier to understand. It actually depends on the approach of the artist. For me, I don’t really care about what others think.”
On the other hand, Lai believes that Macau gives artists some opportunities such as the chance to exhibit their works.
“When when I first returned to Macau, it was not easy to have an exhibition. I only had my first solo exhibition two years after coming back from Beijing. But there are more exhibition opportunities now; it feels like all venues want you to showcase your works here.”
Lai is preparing for an exhibition this December at the Orient Foundation, featuring paintings of vintage floor tiles. Although this series is also about “city” these tiles represent a more abstract illustration of the idea.
The artist is also exploring a new creation series based on forests. He recently visited several forests in Asia and was fascinated by them, especially when it was raining.
“It feels like you are integrated into the forest. When it is raining and you are sweating, everything becomes one and the feeling is very striking.”