Mei Lock
My parents came to Britain in the early 70s and after working for various relatives, they saved up enough money to start their own Chinese take-away business and then later run a fish and chip shop. Being British born, migration, identity, and growing up Chinese in Britain are central themes in my work.
My work is narrative based and serves as an invitation to connect and learn more about British culture through the lens of first- and second-generation Hong-Kong Chinese migrant families, their food, customs and the ways in which the different cultures have influenced one another.
CV
SELECTED GROUP SHOWS:
Tell Me More, part of City Lit Mental Wealth Festival (2026)
Critical Threads, group textile show celebrating East & South East Asian Heritage Month, St John’s College, Oxford (2026)
Touchlines, 62 Group of Textile Artists at Sunny Bank Mills (2026)
Beneath the Veil, The House of Smalls, Edinburgh (2025)
Being, Mental Wealth Festival Exhibition, City Lit Gallery, London (2025)
NAE Open 2025, New Art Exchange, Nottingham (2025)
Textiles Open, No Format Gallery / Second Floor Studios, London (2024)
Memories of a take-away (Bloomsbury Festival), Holborn Library, London (2024)
OTHER GROUP SHOWS & PROJECTS:
Re-tension - the work of holding textile exhibition and drop-in & stitch workshops, Lumen URC, as part of Bloomsbury Festival (2026)
Welcome to my place - community workshop and display at Holborn Community Association as part of Bloomsbury Festival (2026)
Ticky-Tacky: Beyond the White Cube group show, City Lit Gallery, London (2025)
The Luck Lab (LHVx and Mei Lock collaborative project), Reverse Process Manifest Group Exhibition, Standpoint Gallery, London (2025)
Interconnected, City Lit Advanced Textiles End of Course exhibition, London (2024)
GRANTS/AWARDS
2025 The 62 Group of Textile Artists, Associate Member (2025 - 2027)
2024 Bloomsbury Festival New Wave Art Prize, Shortlisted