Hyundai names Lawrence Lek winner of VH Award for new media art
Lawrence Lek has been announced as the Grand Prix winner of the the 4th VH award, Asia’s leading prize for new media artists
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Lawrence Lek has been named as the Grand Prix winner of the 4th VH Award, a biannual event organised by Hyundai Motor Group to discover and support emerging artists from Asian backgrounds.
Lek’s Grand Prix-winning work, Black Cloud (2021), is the culmination of an ongoing body of virtual reality artworks. The multimedia artist, who is London-based and of Malaysian-Chinese descent, explores the geopolitical implications of artificial intelligence and illuminates links between art and AI. Through his virtual-space creations, Lek explores different societal attitudes toward AI and how it can control values, lifestyles and modes of operation around the world.
‘The virtual tools, such as computer-generated images and computer games, can enable contemporary artists to create environments that reflect some of the utopian ideas of architecture,’ says Lek.
Still from Black Cloud by Lawrence Lek, provided by Hyundai Motor Group VH Award
Utilising gaming software and computer-generated animation tools, Lek creates digital environments that combine real-place settings and fictional scenarios.
Launched in 2016, the VH Award has brought into the public limelight diverse Asian artists working in the new media realm. This year marks the first time artists outside of South Korea have been eligible to apply. Lek, together with the remaining 2021 finalists – Doreen Chan, Paribartana Mohanty, Jungwon Seo and Syaura Qotrunadha – will be offered the chance to showcase their work at renowned art institutions and virtual museums around the world. Each artist received US$25,000 to produce a screen-based, audio-visual work, and as the Grand Prix winner, Lek will receive an additional US$25,000.
Still from Black Cloud by Lawrence Lek, provided by Hyundai Motor Group VH Award
‘With the 4th VH Award, Hyundai Motor Group celebrates the diversity and creativity of Asian media artists around the world who share the group’s vision of coming “Together for a Better Future”,’ says DooEun Choi, art director of Hyundai Motor Group. ‘These emerging artists have illuminated our views on the future of humanity and empowered us to forge connections across cultural boundaries,’ she adds.
All finalists took part in an online residency programme hosted by Eyebeam, a New York City-based art and technology centre, which supports the production of new artworks while providing professional development sessions with mentors. The mentors include curators Barbara London, Karen Archey and Ute Meta Bauer, as well as artists Zach Lieberman and Kamau Patton.
Portrait of artist Lawrence Lek, who has been named as the Grand Prix winner of the 4th VH Award, a biannual event organised by Hyundai Motor Group for new media art
INFORMATION
hyundaimotorgroup.com (opens in new tab)
-
First look at Rimowa’s new collaboration with cult skate brand Palace
Palace Rimowa sees the luggage brand’s signature aluminium cabin suitcase emblazoned with an airbrushed motif, alongside a custom skate deck and set of stickers
By Jack Moss • Published
-
Cape Town: 8 things to do and see for the design-minded traveller
Cape Town is a capital of art, design, food and wellness; local resident Sean O’Toole on the best things to do and see, from a Bree Street meander to a Constantia wine route
By Sean O'Toole • Published
-
Copenhagen Fashion Week A/W 2023: everything you need to know
Scarlett Conlon reports from Copenhagen Fashion Week A/W 2023, which took place in the Danish capital last week – featuring shows from Ganni, Holzweiler, Wood Wood and more
By Scarlett Conlon • Published
-
Sonia Boyce’s Golden Lion-winning Venice Biennale show to have UK debut in Margate
In February 2023, Turner Contemporary, Margate will host British artist Sonia Boyce’s 'Feeling Her Way', which won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the 2022 Venice Biennale
By Martha Elliott • Published
-
Veronica Ryan wins the 2022 Turner Prize
Veronica Ryan, the artist who honoured the Windrush generation, has been named winner of the 2022 Turner Prize in a ceremony held in Liverpool
By TF Chan • Published
-
Kiana Hayeri wins Leica photography award for series on Afghan women
Leica has awarded its annual photography prize, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2022, to Iranian-Canadian Kiana Hayeri for her series Promises Written on the Ice, Left in the Sun
By Martha Elliott • Last updated
-
Turner Prize 2022 shortlist unveiled: meet the artists
Tate Liverpool today announced the four-strong shortlist for the Turner Prize 2022: Heather Phillipson, Ingrid Pollard, Veronica Ryan and Sin Wai Kin
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Last updated
-
Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2022: meet the nominees
As the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize exhibition opens in London, we take a closer look at the 2022 nominees: Anastasia Samoylova, Jo Ractliffe, Deana Lawson, and Gilles Peress
By Sophie Gladstone • Last updated
-
Array Collective wins the Turner Prize 2021
Belfast-based Array Collective has been awarded the coveted Turner Prize 2021, chosen from a shortlist of five artist collectives
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Last updated
-
Winners of #CreateCOP26 announced ahead of UN Climate Change Conference
As COP26, the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, gets ready to kick off in Glasgow, we spotlight the winners of #CreateCOP26, an award for young artists confronting themes of climate change
By Nuray Bulbul • Last updated
-
Anicka Yi fills Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall with science, scent and intrigue
Anicka Yi has let loose a family of floating AI jellyfish in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall. We spoke to the artist as she prepared for her scent and science-infused Hyundai Commission
By Nick Compton • Last updated