Sammy Lai (b.1996)

Hong Kong-born visual artist based in Manchester, UK Sammy Lai works primarily with painting and installation, exploring layered relationships between urban environments, nature, and emotion. His compositions overflow with rhythm, movement, and visual complexity, reflecting a belief that abundance creates a sense of safety and wholeness. A graduate of Chelsea College of Arts, UAL (BA Hons Fine Art) and Hong Kong Baptist University (MA in Visual Art, UGC Scholarship), Lai draws from everyday observation, cultural memory, and spatial histories to construct immersive environments. Using fragmented, process-led methods, his work embraces chaos as a path to harmony, inviting viewers to rethink their connection to place, community, and the unseen narratives embedded in their surroundings.

In 2025, Lai became an Associate Member of the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts (MAFA) and is currently a studio member at Paradise Works, an artist-led community in Salford. Through both solo and collaborative projects, his practice continues to deepen dialogue between art and place, contributing meaningfully to artist-led communities in the UK and beyond. Lai’s work explores the intimate relationship between humans and the natural world. Since his postgraduate studies, he has been developing a nature-based visual language that positions natural elements not as backdrops but as active presences within urban space. Through colour blocks, flowing lines, and fragmented compositions, he expresses invisible emotional states and fragments of memory.