In There is no place like home Ken Lum addresses issues of immigration and assimilation by questioning notions of home, belonging, and exclusion. In this billboard-sized graphic, he juxtaposes photographic portraits with statements suggesting the divergent perspectives of tourist, immigrant, and native inhabitant, among others. Connecting the portraits with the statements relies on and challenges our individual presumptions regarding the characters portrayed. Confrontational and impossible to ignore, Lum's large-scale work is reinforced by our immediate understanding of public advertisements and their place in the tumult of daily life. Seen in a gallery, his combination of pictures and text is familiar yet uncomfortable, loud in color and message.
