Wow, the article started out with references to the Mirror Stage of the Oedipal Complex… after that, I kind of expected the author to focus on childhood trauma and I certainly wasn't disappointed. While only a brief part of Ken Lum's history, it would make sense that such events would go on to inform his interest in identity and culture that's so consistently present in his work. The work he does with signs is likely my favorite, though I do enjoy his work with mirrors. The 'personal logos' (as I believe he called them in his talk) have a quirky humor to them that make them very approachable. Though their meaning has shifted over the decades, viewers can still have an idea of political climates of the past to help inform their impressions of the work. There's an interesting conflict that happens in my mind when he 'casts' the East Asian man as "Steve"; while he does confront the discrimination of the time, he also strips away the person's identity to have them act the role they've been given. I think this is effective in creating conflicting feelings of amusement and discomfort; it certainly bothered me!
Aesthetically, his mirrors and inserted photographs are beautiful in a nostalgic kind of way, but I'm not certain if I would necessarily end up considering the same things if they were presented without his previous work with signage in the same show.
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