The Artist

My parents were both Chinese, my father came from Hong Kong and my mother was born in Liverpool. I was born in Glasgow and educated at Glasgow University and Glasgow School of Art, graduating from the Department of Environmental Art in 1998.

I have been exploring the concept of a dual Scottish/Chinese culture since the early days of my career as an artist but it was not until Residencies in Syracuse, New York, the Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester and the former Crawford Arts Centre, St Andrews, that I developed a perspective on my work which was both global and Scottish.

Since then, I have been commissioned to work on many site-specific and photographic projects in Britain and abroad, including the National Glass Centre, Sutherland, the Royal Pavilion, Brighton and MAMA, Rotterdam in my capacity as an artist of Chinese descent.

However, what really interests me, is the interaction with people, talking, getting to know people and using the camera to search out hidden meanings and truths. Socially engaged art is as much a part of my art practice as the installations I have made.

Through my interest in the private and domestic, I have aimed at telling the story of the Chinese diaspora in Scotland, with compassion and humour and with respect to the participants.

Pamela So