Phillip Lai’s compositions employ found materials, and their mimics, particular those that maintain a trace of the body in their form or use such as foam bedding or food containers. His work eschews natural materials in favor of industrial products yet retains a strong relation to those that maintain wellbeing, both physical and psychological. Lai has said he is particularly interested in ingestion as “the close, interactions between humans and materials–things to do with desire, dependency sustenance and nourishment.” Through this, traditional sculptural principles such as form and volume expand to include intimacy, need and protection.