PENUMBRA WORKSPACE PROGRAM | RESIDENT | 2025
Brian Van Lau
Image © Brian Van Lau. Courtesy of the artist.
“Brian Van Lau’s “We’re Just Here for the Bad Guys” deftly weaves new and archival photographs, found materials, and written correspondence to explore how much we can know about our loved ones. All autobiographical work reveals tensions; the sequencing of portraits, landscapes, and scanned materials in this series demonstrates that Lau’s in complete control of how they’re being presented. He shows how a week’s worth of events can create emotions that last a lifetime. Applying primarily to further his work on an in-progress book, we were intrigued by his additional desire to explore various printing methods for a multimedia gallery presentation of the series.”
Brian Van Lau (b.1996, Honolulu, HI) is a self-taught Vietnamese-American photographer based between Honolulu, HI and Los Angeles, CA. His work is about searching for fictitious evidence and using the tool of photography to explore and materialize interpersonal and generational relationships. He is a 2023 Aperture Portfolio Prize Runner-up, a recipient of the 2024 Google x Aperture Creator Labs Grant, a winner of the 2023 Innovate Grant, a selected participant in the New York Times Portfolio Review, shortlisted for the Hopper Prize, and the founder of Arcanite Pictures, an online platform and publisher dedicated to highlighting emerging artists. His work most recently his work was exhibited at the Hō‘ikeākea Gallery in Honolulu, HI as part of Float On, curated by Phil Jung, and lectured at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and Northwind Art School in Port Townsend, WA. He has been commissioned and feature on The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Vogue, and many more.
SPONSORS
This program is supported by Joy of Giving Something.
