About Myself - BIO

Cassian Lau was born in Hong Kong on April 26, 1968. According to his siblings, Cassian's interest in art started at an early age because he was an annoying and needy child. His sisters would give Cassian stacks of paper every day and ask him to make drawings on all the paper in order to keep him occupied and off their backs. At the age of 6, Cassian moved to Toronto, Canada. He learned English by reading American comic books and watching American television. As such, Cassian acquired a love of North American popular culture. This love of pop culture would extend into a love of many world cultures which would later strongly influence his artwork.

Canada provided a strong educational system that helped Cassian develop a lifelong curiosity to keep learning. Canada also instilled a sense of multiculturalism in Cassian that is exemplified by the various references to different cultures and styles including influences from Australian and Canadian aboriginal art, European artistic heritage, American popular culture, Asian art, manga, etc. Canada's multicultural population has allowed Cassian's work to mix various themes and influences from all over the world.

Growing up in a western country had Cassian questioning his identity as an ethnic Hong Kong Chinese and as a Canadian from an early age. A yearning to learn more about Chinese culture stemmed from this conflict of west versus east which would later become a merging of western and eastern images, cultures, iconography, words, literature, music and many other facets of both sides in his work.

Cassian attended York Mills Collegiate in Toronto and obtained his degrees in Fine Arts and Business Administration at York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Upon the completion of his studies, Cassian returned to Hong Kong to be with his parents. He also divided his time to help his wife in the fashion retail business by overseeing the design and applying his artistic talent to the business. During his stint, he had the opportunity to work with the world’s top designers and artists. He also visited many contemporary art museums and galleries in the world which helped fuelled his love of all arts.

Although Cassian enjoyed his creative role in the fashion industry, he reflected on his role in life, his purpose, and the value of his work. In 2008 he decided to return full-time to his first love which is painting. He wants to be more vocal about social issues and he thinks it is best to express his ideology using canvas as his medium.

Cassian's art encompasses many styles and influences. He finds inspiration from any and everywhere. Although Cassian's work can be considered Pop art, the elements in the work and the messages he tries to convey go far beyond this categorization.

Cassian is exploring various styles in his work. These styles are 1) of the allegorical tradition akin to the tradition of Hans Holbein Jr in which many events are happening in a painting of many details, using visual metaphors and iconography to push story narratives and 2) of the Pop tradition using popular images, calligraphy, to collage images of various visual elements.

Cassian's work also includes strong social messages. As a painter, he records and expresses what he feels are social injustices in the world. In many of his works, he quotes many ancient scholars extolling their wisdom. It is important to him that the ethics and morals of his Chinese heritage be refreshed and reminded again for all of us today. We must care more, love more and help more. However, Cassian is the first to admit that he is by no means a virtuous or sanctimonious man. He understands his imperfections but “he will strive to be better, if even just a little, day by day”.

Cassian Lau 劉啟舜

1968 : born in Hong Kong

1974 : immigrated to Toronto Canada

1990’s : graduated BFA (honours) , BBA (honours) , York University. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

2000’s : Established chain of fashion boutiques (Sistyr Moon)

2009 : Solo Exhibition “Electric Claustorphobia” at MADHOUSE Contemporary, Hong Kong

2009: Established fashion label, “iiJin”

2010 : Solo Exhibition “Anybody Left Under the Lion Rock” , OC Gallery , Hong Kong

2011: Joint Exhibition “ HK ARTcomics, Hong Kong

2012 : regular comic strip contributor to Apple Daily

2012 : Joint Exhibition “The Repository of Coherent Babbles” , Southsite , Hong Kong

2013-present : Owner/Artistic Director for fashion label "iiJin"

2016 : Joint Exhibition "Fabrik Expo" , Los Angeles , California

2016 : Live Painting Demonstration at Bloomingdales Soho , New York , New York

2021 : Joint Exhibition “Remember Them?”, Art Space K, Hong Kong