Ho Tam

Visual Art:

Friends of My Youth

Children's paintings (oil on linen)

Dimensions: 8" x 8" ea.

Adults' paintings (oil on masonite)

Dimensions: 16" x 12" ea.

Set of 22 pce (11 pairs), 2025

Made for the exhibition Dream Factory at Chinese Canadian Museum, Vancouver

 

In the curator Melissa Karman Lee's words:

 

In this suite of paintings, Ho Tam pays tribute to eleven iconic Chinese singers by portraying each figure in a diptych format—once as a child and again as an adult, roughly the same age as the artist himself. This deeply personal series is both a reflection on the passage of time and an exploration of the lasting emotional connections we form with cultural figures from our youth.

 

Through these diptychs, the series blurs the line between fan and idol, reflecting on how these performers shaped a generation’s imagination while evolving alongside their audience. By presenting them as imagined peers, Tam invites viewers to reflect on aging, nostalgia, and the lasting influence of pop culture. The portraits evoke both affection and loss, capturing the enduring presence of these figures as "friends" who accompanied the artist—and many others—through life’s passage.

 

這一組作品中,譚浩以雙聯畫的形式,向十一位具代表性的粵語流行歌手致敬。每位歌手的形象分別呈現其童年與成年的模樣,成年後的形象與藝術家的年齡相近。這一系列極具個人情感的作品,不僅是對時光流逝的深刻反思,更是對我們與年少時期的文化偶像之間深厚情感聯繫的探索。

透過這些雙聯畫,藝術家模糊了粉絲與偶像之間的界線,反思了這些表演者如何塑造了一代人的想像力,同時也隨著他們的觀眾一同經歷成長與變遷。譚浩將他們描繪為如同摯友般的同齡人,邀請觀者一齊回望歲月,思考年華老去、懷舊之情,以及流行文化所留下的深遠影響。這些肖像交織著親切與失落的情感,捕捉了這些偶像作為「朋友」的長久存在,陪伴著藝術家以及許多同代人 —— 共同走過人生的旅程。

Starting at top left, from left to right:

Sandy, Andy, Leslie, Faye, Priscilla, Ka Kui, Jacky, Anita, Danny, Aaron, and Sally.