Second up on the stage at this month’s event was Lydia Chan. And before diving into her trippy and complex set design creations, we had a very – very – welcomed round of applause as the audience sang out Happy Birthday. Turning 30 on the day, Lydia was in high spirits as she launched into her talk with a big grin across her face. She giggled, “Oh my god, I didn’t expect that! I was just nervous so I said a random thing!” This certainly set a celebratory tone for the rest of the evening… that’s for sure.
The artist and set designer then continued to discuss her ethos and practice, that being one that merges fantastical worlds with imaginative creatures and landscapes. “I’m gonna talk about my art,” she proclaimed as she showed us some of her beaded monsters on the big screen. These specific monsters are not only drawn from her inspirations in cartoons such as Spongebob Square Pants and Fairly Odd Parents, but they’re also what formed the origins to the rest of her practice. “It’s basically something I want to explore for my entire life.” Later on in her talk, she showed us the “other part” of her practice, which is firmly planted in “logic, reality and systems” – “the meticulous details in planning” that she needs to consider to make her work, work. This includes a fascinating large-scale exhibition for Now Gallery which saw Lydia plaster an entire space with her own version of reality, i.e. an immersive world filled with blobs, colour splashes, 3D squiggles and, of course, monsters. “The most Lydia space ever,” she said. Watch the full video above to find out more about her incredibly maximalist designs.