Hugo Lami

Technology is a double-edged sword, and I have a love-hate relationship with it. Every time a new gadget comes out, I get hopeful that maybe this will be the one that changes my life. But it never is…

As an artist, this fascination with technology and its impact on society drives my work. I explore the paradoxical relationship we have with tech, which is supposed to make our lives better, but often leaves us disillusioned and disconnected living in Hyperrealities as defined by Jean Baudrillard.

Nature is also a significant influence on my art. I’m captivated by the way technology affects how we perceive the natural world. My paintings often blur the lines between reality and fantasy, using surrealism and magical realism to create a world where the limits of reality are not bound by physical laws.


My works depict landscapes or outer space and planets, populated by organisms and shapeless creatures trying to define their identity. Through my art, I hope to express the frustration of the artificial against the peacefullness of the natural world, and how it affects our sense of self and our relationship with our environment.

I use science fiction as a tool to explore the boundaries of what it means to be human when faced with the non-human. Estrangement is a form of practicing metaphors and methodologies that are concerned with exploring the limits and boundaries of consciousness and allows the potential for viewers to rethink their surroundings. My work is not defined by the idea of futurity and preoccupations with the ‘not yet’ or ‘what might be’ but rather questioning imaginary configurations of possible, desirable or disagreeable futures.

By looking back to the present I try to defamiliarise the contemporary a method used by Kapwani Kiwanga in her project Afrogalactica. And by removing the Eurocentric projection of future, and broadening the perspectives, struggles and traditions that inform the technological and cultural dimensions of futurity I reach to the natural world to structure the context of my painting.

I believe we are morphing, and we no longer know how to define ourselves. Our identity is being dissolved, and we need to reconnect with nature to rediscover ourselves. With my work I hope to provide a space for reflection and questioning. I want to inspire others to consider the impact of technological evolution and encourage them to reconnect with nature to find a sense of identity and purpose.