VUE

Lam first began to experiment with polyurethane foam aer seeing Benglis' art, where she was doing huge pours in museum spaces with the material having a puffy so look to it that was quite enticing. Other inspirations of Lam's include James Turrell and Olafur Eliasson, artists who create art that goes beyond the eye - stirring curiosity and invoking the senses in a different way. With YouTube tutorials on how to use polyurethane foam nowhere in sight, Lam had to get creative in order to invent her own style of doing things. Polyurethane foam is essentially a two-part liquid that you mix together, but many factors, including the temperature of the studio and how much you mix, can completely alter the outcome of the substance. "In knowing that, I used it to my advantage. So rather than using this material, and trying to manipulate it in such a precise way to make it do something, I learned it and understood what it needed to look a certain way," Lam shares. Aer working with the material for so long, she has developed her own techniques in a specific direction that allows her voice to come through in her sculptures. ey are incredibly eye- catching, shaped in ways that usually cause viewers to tilt their heads, and ask the question, "What is that?" Truth be told there is no solid answer. For Lam, "it's about making something that people are curious about. One of my favorite things is when people see my work in person and always ask, what is it? I think that's a great question. What happens is you ask one question, and then there's this curiosity to keep digging, asking why." Lam wants her work to inspire curiosity and questions in people, rather than just have bystanders look at it, and move right along. VUE ON | DESIGN 82 VUENJ.COM

• Cover