Agnes Lau

b. 1990, Malaysia

Lau Pik Yoke (Agnes), a multidisciplinary artist working with various mediums and materials, was born in 1990 in Kuala Lumpur. She took her diploma in Graphic Design (2008-2011) and Fine Art (2013-2015); both from Dasein Academy of Art. Having grown up in a busy city, her love for appreciating nature and peace of mind grew tremendously. She has always been fascinated by how the art-making processes helped her in silencing the chaotic state of mind and this is what led her to create pieces with repetitive/meditative actions.

After completing her studies, Agnes delved into her art practice which involved the discovery and exploration of the details of everyday life, with the ‘essence of living’ being the foundation of her studio practice. The ordinary yet ignored objects or activities from daily life play a role in her study and she tries to stimulate reflections through art-making processes and projecting the subject matter she is studying through various materials, enabling her to create multiple forms of unique visual language for her work.Her work lies between systematic and non-systematic processes produced within a determined time and space. Incorporating both the conscious and unconscious mind, she allows various forms to take place in her work, juggling between drawing, painting, and printmaking on different materials, like paper, canvas, ceramic, and daily found objects.

Her works have been exhibited in several local galleries including Taksu Gallery, G13 Gallery, Segaris Art Centre, and others.She had her first solo exhibition entitled ‘dot dot dot line line line’ at TAKSU Kuala Lumpur in the first quarter of 2019. In early 2018, one of her printmaking work entitled ‘100,000 Eyebrows’ was selected as an exhibiting piece in Kuala Lumpur Miniprint Exhibition at National Art Gallery; while in 2015, her other printmaking work from the ‘Manuscript of Nature’ series was selected as one of the exhibiting pieces in the 2nd Macau Printmaking Triennial held in Macau Art Museum and subsequently collected by the Printmaking Research Centre of Macau. She was also the 2nd runner-up in the 2018 YOUthReka Art Competition organized by Nandos Art Initiative. In 2020, she is the 1st runner-up in the 2020 Visual Art Projects 4 competition organised by MyCreative Ventures. Recently, in November 2021, Agnes Lau became the recipient of the Highly Commended in the Established Artist Category in Malaysia for the 40th UOB Art Awards 2021.

Agnes is now an artist and graphic designer and at the same time the Head of Department for Certificate In Visual Communication Course and lecturer at Dasein. She enjoys the moments in helping younger generations develop the same enthusiasm that she has for art and design, inspiring them in furthering their creativity through theoretical and experiential learning.