London Metropolitan University   2008/2009

Anthony Lam

Curator Davina Lee's statement on The Schengen Principle

Lam’s works are taken from the book project The Schengen Principle, currently a work in progress comprising a series of photographs and text concerned with the two sides of development within the compacted distance of London’s East End. The ‘Schengen Principle’, the removal of barriers to allow the free circulation of people across borders appears to have had little impact on an area that encompasses the extremes of financial bastion Canary Wharf and the low-income public housing estates of Poplar and Limehouse in Tower Hamlets. Revisiting places from his childhood and adolescence Lam’s photographs reflected how, despite the development of the area as a world-leading financial hub, outside the physical limits of Canary Wharf little appears to have changed. From the remnants of vandalized public art of the 1960s and abandoned public spaces to the density of mass housing estates, Lam’s works suggested that distance is not necessarily geographical and that absence of interaction is not directly proportional to distance.

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Anthony Lam on AA2A

Being able to use the facilities at London Metropolitan was really great and enabled me to progress my project work to showing in an international context. This experience and the openness of the scheme has been highly useful and productive, giving me time and space to concentrate and deal with ideas and possibilities. The support offered is unique and an excellent opportunity for all artists.