Second Life of leaves: Mandala workshop
Though they are dead, the leaves that fall from trees are still very beautiful. Can we give them a second life? We can use them as a material to create invaluable works of art.
This workshop offers an opportunity. Leaf artist Inkgo Lam will lead participants to appreciate this natural material, and offer instruction on how to press leaves and make leaf mandala. Participants will experience a unique and eco-friendly artform and gain a new appreciation of nature.
The word mandala comes from Sanskrit, meaning “centre” and “circle”. Today, mandala is often used in art and even art therapy around the world.
Lam Ka Yu
Inkgo Lam Ka Yu, born 1992 in Hong Kong, graduated from the Department of Fine Arts of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2014. She specialises in using plant matter such as leaves, seeds and bamboo to make art. Her own name is derived from the gingko plant.
It all started in 2013 when she picked up a fallen ginkgo leaf. Since then, she has been collecting leaves to use in her works. In 2020, Inkgo held two solo exhibitions with the theme of observing human beings and cities from a tree’s perspective. In the same year she studied bamboo craft via the Jockey Club ICH+ Innovative Heritage Education Programme, whose objective is to fuse traditional craft with modern art. Her subsequent bamboo artworks were exhibited at Hong Kong Art Basel in 2021 and are also in private collections.