Canadian custom art studio Moss and Lam has officially unveiled 2 English projects for internationally acclaimed interior design firm Yabu Pushelberg. 

The custom artwork by Moss and Lam infuses the luxurious Pan Pacific and the super boutique The Londoner with a sense of whimsy through storytelling.

Founded in 1987 by Deborah Moss and her late husband Edward Lam, the creative hub known as Moss and Lam has brought its unique artistry to properties all over the world.

PAN PACIFIC

In their signature whimsy, the multidisciplinary atelier adds a visual narrative to the ultramodern interiors at the  Pan Pacific that pays homage to national cultural icons William Shakespeare, J.M.W. Turner and Sir Joshua Reynolds. The hotel’s majestic reception welcomes guests to an enchanted setting beautifully rendered in a large-scale mural featuring a greyhound and a parrot engaged in a philosophical conversation with other animals. 

“The Sweet Adventure”, explains Deborah Moss “is inspired by a passage in William Shakespeare’s Henry V – as popularized by Sherlock Holmes’ famous saying,  ‘The game is afoot Watson!’. From these varied sources of inspiration, I imagined a story where three main characters: a greyhound, a parrot and a lemur, are intent on solving a philosophical puzzle that leads to the discovery of the civility of comprehension possible between like-minded soul mates”.

The hound asked the parrot, “Please teach me to fly so I may taste such sweetness.” The parrot asked, “How does a hound know that cherries are sweet? You are a hunter and belong in the forest chasing blood and fur.” To this, the hound replied, “Kind sir, you belong in a cage yet stand before me in this verdant meadow. Please do not question my desires and I will not question your freedom.”  To this, the parrot nodded and fluttered his magnificent wings in agreement.”

Lured out of their country manor by the unfamiliar and enticing fragrance of the dragon fruit, the two unlikely companions embark on a philosophical discussion about freedom and choice. Directly opposite, the dragon fruit and the lemur seen hanging on the tree, represent the unexpected quality of an exotic experience, and its ability to captivate and inspire the animals.  For a nation famously devoted to their pets, this animal adventure explores the unknown, mirroring the nature of travel and its embrace of new worlds.

Standing at just under 5 meters tall and 4 meters wide, the mural’s aesthetic was inspired by Sir Joshua Reynolds’ portrait of Richard Peers Symons and his faithful greyhound set in a background rich in architecture and symbolism.

Completing the ground floor’s visual narrative is Moss and Lam’s other mural, located in the Hotel’s Ginger Lily Bar. Here guests can catch a glimpse of an expressionistic storm that celebrates the turbulent nature of the seascapes by another British icon, J.M.W. Turner. In stark contrast to the dramatic style of the mural, the bar becomes a safe haven where guests are sheltered from the imaginative tempest and enveloped in a fantastical world. The natural elements beloved by the artist – air, water, wind- are recreated with a wide range of nuanced and shimmering colors to evoke the master’s unique rendition of lightness and dramatic sensuality.

The city’s beloved heritage comes to life in the upstairs guest rooms, which feature watercolor decorated headboards and framed wall art depicting London’s famous planes, oaks, elders, elms and maple trees. In addition to the greenery magnified in grand scale on the oversized headboards, England’s unrivalled passion for gardens is celebrated in the smaller, detailed paintings of plants and other flora that grace the bedroom walls. 

THE LONDONER HOTEL

Just 500 meters from the legendary Piccadilly Circus, in The Londoner hotel, Moss and Lam takes storytelling to a whole new level by recreating a surreal experience of subtle and powerful gestures.  

Sculptural objects recalling De Chirico’s metaphysical architecture inhabit the lobby and the hotel’s atrium by inviting guests to enter an imaginary world where mystical reality plays a decisive role.

Like archaeological rarities stemming from a surrealist and classical era, sculpted busts embellished with eccentric feathers by British artist Rose Robson, sit on the shelves of the bar area looking out invitingly at a public eager to step into its dreamy dimension. Always keen on using a mix of contrasting shapes and materials, Moss and Lam concludes its surrealist journey upstairs. In the Whisky Room, individual sculptures of hands and eyes are tied together suggesting a symbolic bond between the sensorial experience of touch and vision. Shimmering pearl crystal eyebrows contour the arch of the eyes to highlight the importance of their function as instruments of sight and observation. The result is an interactive experience where the boundaries between the real and surreal are blurred, leading the viewer to step into a misleadingly bizarre world that’s as seductive as it is hypnotic.

In this moment of rebirth, following a long pause in what is still an unpredictable situation, the Canadian art lab is proud to inaugurate these imaginative artworks in London. As an antidote to challenging times, and a hymn to a new joie de vivre that combines poetry, playfulness and magic.

Photos by Michael Sinclair