Chan Wai Lap
Chan Wai Lap
Chan Wai Lap’s (b. 1988, Hong Kong SAR) creative practice primarily involves paintings, drawings and art installations, often inspired by his personal experience, memories and everyday happenings. In recent years, Chan is particularly keen on documenting public swimming pools, investigating the concept of power dynamics—between public and private, self and others and the interrelationships of these notions.
Chan’s works have been exhibited in various art institutions in Hong Kong, Beijing, New York, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, etc. Recent exhibitions include Loveguard (Gallery EXIT, Hong Kong, 2025), Some of us are looking at the stars (Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 2023) and The Lonesome Changing Room (Art Central, Hong Kong, 2021). He was the winner of the inaugural Winsor & Newton x Paul Smith’s Foundation International Art Prize in 2024 and the Award for Young Artist (Visual Arts) of the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards in 2019. The artist currently lives and works in Hong Kong.
Chan Wai Lap’s artistic practice examines the interplay between public space and identity expressed through painting and installation. Drawing from personal memories, everyday observations and a longstanding fascination with swimming pools, his work explores the unique nature of this meeting and leisure area from cultural and social perspectives.
The imaginary pools in 'Dreaming of swimming pools 12' (2024–25) and 'Dreaming of swimming pools 11' (2024-25) represent the Northern and Southern Hemisphere respectively. The circular swimming pools are adorned with mosaic patterns representing an aerial view of Earth. With water covering approximately 71% of Earth’s surface, Chan invites us to envision humanity as co-inhabitants of a vast, shared aquatic realm. Though strangers, we remain connected as part of a collective space where collaboration and imagination can foster a better world. For swimming pool drawings based on actual pools Chan visited, he would count the number of tiles and accurately reflect them in his works.
'You come to me on a summer breeze - Budapest 2' (2024-25) continues Chan Wai Lap’s ongoing research into public swimming pools as spaces of collective leisure and shared cultural memory. This work documents Budapest's historic Gellért Baths and Széchenyi Thermal Bath — two iconic locations where architecture, ritual and community converge.
'You come to me on a summer breeze - Budapest 3' (2024-25) captures the outdoor wave pool at Budapest’s historic Gellért Baths. The artist invites viewers to step into the scene as though they are swimming alongside the bathers, evoking a sense of immersion and shared experience in the pool. The work’s vibrant details highlight the architectural beauty of the Gellért Baths, emphasizing the unique shapes and forms that define this social space.
Chan Wai Lap’s 'Caution' (2017) is not merely a warning about slippery floors. He suggests that everyday life is full of things we must stay alert to — not only wet surfaces, but also various obscure or other unexpected crises and dangers. In this work, Chan adopts a simple yet incisive gesture — he takes a ready-made “Caution: Slippery Floor” sign, erases the original text and hand-paints the text "caution" back onto the sign.