Mars Veg-99: Ravielle Lam Sum Yin Reimagines Cultural Memory Through Speculative Nostalgia
At the Future Art & Design Award 2026 Summer Season, UK-based contemporary mixed-media painter Ravielle Lam Sum Yin received the Gold Prize in the Mixed Media Painting category for Mars Veg-99 (Broccoli x Mahjong Cultivar). Bringing together the familiar cultural symbolism of Mahjong with an imagined future of plant cultivation on Mars, the work transforms collective memory into a speculative vision of how cultural identity might survive, adapt, and evolve beyond Earth.
Lam describes her artistic language as “Speculative Nostalgia”—an approach that brings classical painting techniques into dialogue with futurism, cultural heritage, and imagined worlds. Through layered oil glazing, tactile surfaces, cinematic contrasts of light and shadow, and symbolic storytelling, her work asks a distinctly human question: as our environments and technologies change, which memories and traditions will we choose to carry with us?
Looking ahead, humanity may well inhabit Mars within the next century. Out here, as I toil to engineer an entirely new living environment from the sterile dust, an overwhelming wave of nostalgia frequently consumes me. In this profound isolation, I find myself longing deeply for the warm, chaotic social connections of home—the lively games that once brought people together in community.
This inspired my attachment to this 'Seed Pillow' (種子枕) inside the vacuum enclosure. Appropriating the 'One Dot' (一筒) Mahjong icon—a profound symbol of Hong Kong's cultural memory—and shaped so closely like a traditional tile, it serves as a vessel for both genetic codes and collective heritage. Looking at it, I am instantly reconnected to the vibrant, bustling nights I left behind. Among the cold, alien isolation of Mars, this fragile piece of identity transforms into my ultimate lifeline, keeping my longing and humanity alive at the end of the universe."
Interview
Q. Please give us a brief introduction about yourself and your creative background.
Ravielle Lam Sum Yin: I am a contemporary mixed-media painter based in the UK. My practice bridges classical painting techniques with speculative futurism, deeply exploring themes of cultural identity, heritage, and collective memory.
I am fascinated by how traditional culture might evolve when projected into distant futures. Through rich textures, layered oil glazing, and symbolic storytelling, I create quiet and reflective visual spaces that invite viewers to consider the relationship between memory, identity, and imagination.
Q. What inspired you to pursue a career in art and design?
Lam: Since childhood, I have been deeply captivated by beautiful aesthetics and the transformative harmony of colour combinations. Art and design are inseparable from our daily lives, and colour possesses an extraordinary ability to evoke emotion. I have also been deeply influenced by the cultural impact of great artists throughout history.
Although my journey as a full-time painter began later than some, I have never surrendered my childhood dream or lost my passion for what I truly love.
I am committed to dedicating my life to creation. Through my work, I hope to add vibrant colour to the world while offering visual experiences that bring viewers both quiet joy and thoughtful reflection.
Q. Can you describe the creative process behind your work and what motivates you to create?
Lam: In my home culture, Mahjong is far more than entertainment; it carries profound cultural symbolism and collective memory. During Lunar New Year, families dress in bright new clothes, visit one another, and gather around the Mahjong table. These festive moments are filled with warmth, laughter, and a strong sense of togetherness.
I began projecting this deeply rooted nostalgia into a near-future vision—a speculative scenario in which humanity relocates to Mars.
I found myself asking: if we were living on another planet, would we still be able to preserve these innocent and treasured collective memories?
Mars Veg-99 grew from this question. The project reflects on what might happen to cultural traditions as humanity moves into radically different environments, while also reminding us to cherish and safeguard the cultural roots we have today.
Q. What was the most exciting or challenging part of creating the work you submitted to the competition?
Lam: The most complex challenge was transforming a natural plant form into something that genuinely felt futuristic and science-fictional.
To develop the concept, I researched NASA’s space crop cultivation systems and began drawing parallels between the compact geometry of a Mahjong tile and a miniature botanical seed. From there, I imagined a visual environment in which these seemingly unrelated forms could coexist.
Rendering this interstellar laboratory setting required precise artistic control. Delicate glazing, subtle colour transitions, and atmospheric blending were particularly important in making the surreal environment convincing while preserving the emotional warmth at the heart of the work.
Q. How would you describe your creative style and the key characteristics that define your work?
Lam: I describe my style as “Speculative Nostalgia.”
The defining characteristics of my work include a subtle interplay between classical craftsmanship and futuristic themes, tactile surfaces created through impasto and glazing, and cinematic contrasts between light and darkness.
By integrating iconic cultural symbols—such as traditional Hong Kong Mahjong tiles—into organic, futuristic environments, my paintings invite viewers into a quiet realm where memory and cosmic imagination can coexist.
Q. What has been your experience participating in the competition?
Lam: I am deeply honoured to participate in the Future Art & Design Award UK. I sincerely admire the competition’s transparent judging criteria and the consistently high standard of its winning entries.
Knowing the expertise of the judges and their high aesthetic standards, I poured my heart and soul into every stage of the creative process—from the initial conceptual research to the final brushstroke.
Participating in the judging process was a meaningful and enriching experience, and I am sincerely grateful to receive this recognition.
Q. Where do you see the future of the art and design industry heading in the next 5–10 years?
Lam: Over the next five to ten years, I believe the art industry will experience a deeper convergence between technological concepts and tactile, slow-crafted art.
As digital generation and automated tools become increasingly ubiquitous, I believe the physical “artist’s touch”—the time-intensive, organic, and emotional process behind traditional painting—will become even more precious.
The future will belong to creators who can think globally and conceptually while grounding their physical practice in authentic human emotion and irreplaceable craftsmanship.
Editor’s Note
What gives Mars Veg-99 (Broccoli x Mahjong Cultivar) its distinctive character is not simply the unexpected combination of broccoli, Mahjong, and Mars, but the emotional logic connecting them. Beneath its science-fiction setting lies a familiar concern: what happens to cultural memory when the world around us changes beyond recognition?
Lam’s concept of “Speculative Nostalgia” offers a compelling framework for exploring this question. A Mahjong tile—associated with family gatherings, Lunar New Year, laughter, and shared experience—is transported into an imagined interplanetary future and reinterpreted through the language of botanical cultivation. Nostalgia therefore becomes more than a longing for the past; it becomes material for imagining what humanity might choose to preserve in the future.
Recognised with the Gold Prize at the Future Art & Design Award 2026 Summer Season, Mars Veg-99 also reflects an intriguing tension within contemporary art. Its subject looks towards technological futures, while its execution remains grounded in painstaking physical craftsmanship, layered glazing, texture, and the visible presence of the artist’s hand.
In this imagined meeting between Mars and Mahjong, Ravielle Lam Sum Yin creates a world that feels simultaneously distant and familiar. Mars Veg-99 ultimately asks whether technological progress must leave cultural memory behind—or whether the traditions that once gathered families around a table might find entirely new forms in worlds yet to come.
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