Ken Lum on the facade

Ken Lum’s ambition is to create art that relates directly to the world we live in. Since the mid-1980s, he has worked with images combined with text in a format that may resemble commercial advertising posters. The aesthetics of these works are inspired both by family photographs and advertising and often play on stereotypical representations of gender and ethnicity. By creating a tension between image and text, Lum makes the viewer aware of their role as a creator of meaning in the encounter with the work. 

Works for Stavanger 2026

The two works displayed on the façade of the art museum (Hurry and Yawning, both 2026) were created specifically for the façade of Stavanger Art Museum and are part of Stavanger Secession 2026 – To Live and Think Like Pigs. The photographs were taken in Paris in the 1990s but they somehow have a visual connection to the outdoor space surrounding the museum—the adjacent busway and the lake with its rich plant and bird life. Nevertheless, it is the people who are central to the art works. Lum creates connections to the social, political, and economic realities we live in, allowing the individual to tell a story that is both recognizable and pointed.

In Hurry, we see a man standing hunched over with his hands on his knees at the edge of a body of water. It appears as though he is calling out to someone on the water. On the ground behind him lies a bag and a suitcase, and it is clear that there is urgency.

The work Yawning shows an older bearded man sitting on a bench in a bus shelter, yawning. The accompanying text describes the sound he makes—a long yawn. The work brings a slight smile; it is easy to recognize oneself in the motif.
 

The juxtaposition of these two artworks might remind us of challenges related to inequality and unequal access to resources. Who is left with the profit when some people work multiple jobs just to make ends meet? How do we relate to all the people who are forced to flee their homes? Inspired by the accessible language of advertising, Lum uses humour, warmth, and recognition to engage us as viewers.

Ken Lum is a Canadian artist who work in a range of media

Ken Lum (b. 1956) is a Canadian artist, academic, and curator who works across a range of media, including painting, sculpture, photography, and mixed media. He established himself as an artist in the 1990s, at a time when the use of text in artworks was often seen as synonymous with politically engaged art. Artists who incorporated text into their work were often motivated by a desire to signal resistance to art as pure aesthetic pleasure. Lum sees text and images as equal elements in his works. He is interested in the visual qualities of text and considers both visual appearance and content when composing his pieces.

Stavanger Art Museum is pleased that Stavanger Secession proposed Ken Lum as the artist for the museum’s façade. The exhibition is curated by Pernille Dybvig and Charles Teyssou from Stavanger Secession in collaboration with Hanne Beate Ueland and Helga Nyman from Stavanger Art Museum.