Surreal Photography: Illusions and Dreams | Joey Lam

The ongoing photography series I submitted is called “Javanese, mon ami”, a series of portrait photos taken in Bali, Komodo Island, and Yogyakarta in Indonesia from the summer of 2023 to 2024, using expired 135mm color film.
The photos and people in this series appeared to be grainy, underexposed, and unclear, as to illustrate my artist’s statement that Indonesia is related to me by blood and in my family heritage since my grandparents are Indonesian Chinese, yet I found this part of myself mysterious and unfamiliar since I only traveled and knew the country until now. In the past, I only heard of Indonesia from the words of my grandparents. And this series will be an ongoing series as I took more portraiture while traveling to other cities in Indonesia, and continue expressing this unknown part of myself through film photography.

Joey Lam is a freelance photographer and photography artist based in Hong Kong; she particularly specializes in 135mm film portrait photography. Her works have been shortlisted and exhibited online in numerous art and photography awards in Hong Kong, Europe, and Japan since 2022. Being a registered psychiatric nurse in Hong Kong with a strong passion for film and portrait photography, her major in mental health nursing also influenced her to use photography to express human connections and emotions, with the vintage element of film and under the influence of movies.