Lem, Brenda Joy
Brenda Joy Lem is a third generation Chinese Canadian visual artist based in Toronto, Ontario. Her mother, Kathleen Lem (née Yip), was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan but was educated in China. When Japan invaded China, Kathleen and her sisters fled their village, moving from one Christian Mission to another in search of refuge. The young women were displaced for thirteen years before they were reunited with family in Canada after the war. Kathleen then married William Lem of Toronto, Ontario and the couple settled in Etobicoke, Ontario. Brenda values the Chinese cultural practices and traditions her mother taught her, some of which she has passed on to her own daughter, Una. On her father’s side, Brenda admires the life of her late grandmother Jean Chin and aunt Margaret Lem. The artist explores her aunt’s memories of growing up Chinese Canadian in Oshawa in several recent works included in the traveling exhibition, Brenda Joy Lem: Homage to the Heart. Drawing from archival photographs, cultural imagery, and the oral histories of her family members, Brenda’s prints and mixed media works explore notions of identity, memory, and place.
In the first part of a two-part interview, visual artist Brenda Joy Lem discusses her family’s history in Canada on her mother’s and father’s sides. She describes her mother’s childhood in China, and her years spent displaced during the Japanese occupation. She also speaks about her father’s family life and laundry business in Oshawa, Ontario. Brenda then relates her own experiences growing up as a Chinese Canadian in Toronto, Ontario.
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