Kayung Lai
Oriental Gardens
The concept of the Orient as 'Other' has been vivid in the western imagination since the beginning of global trade. Historically artistic license has been taken in romanticising the Orient, depicting it as a world filled with mystery and difference. This representation has dominated the western expression of the Orient, a fantasy fully expressed in 18th century material culture. By documenting various Oriental gardens found within southern England, this project reveals the continuation of this mythical discourse by oscillating between the fantastical features of these Oriental gardens and the telltale signs of their British location. By presenting the dominance of binary thinking between East and West within this Orientalist fantasy, the work attempts to reflect upon the cultural hybridity present within our globalised world.
Fu-An Chen • Rich Cutler • James Finlay • Mu-Tien Ho • Elin Karlsson • Kayung Lai • Sharon O'Neill • Andrew Pengilly • Alastair Rodgers • Yuxi Si • Charles Morgan Smith • Joy Stacey • Tim Stephens •
University of Brighton
MA Photography
Central Saint Martins
MA Photography
Central Saint Martins
MA Fine Art
London College of Communication
MA Photography
London College of Communication
MA Photojournalism & Documentary Photography
University of Wales, Newport
MA/MFA Documentary Photography
University of Sunderland
MA Photography
University of Ulster
MFA Photography