"Daniel Lai transforms discarded and unwanted books into amazing, innovative wall sculptures. Each book speaks to the artist in a different way inspiring unique layouts. The color of a cover, the quality of paper, the patterns of folded pages and bent covers, the graphic designs formed by the text on pages – all factors influencing the mind’s eye (mental imagery) of the artist. Within each sculpture hand-molded clay figures strike various contemplative poses. Daniel was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia of Chinese descent. He moved to the United States in 2000. He has a B.A. in Linguistics (2003) and a M.A. in Art Studies/Art History (2006) from Montclair State University, NJ. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Daniel’s work has been collected around the world. He has been published in numerous books and magazines and has earned several awards nationally and internationally."