Korean Artist Transforms Her Small Studio Into Dreamlike Worlds Without Photoshop
Source: opiomgallery.com
This young woman is absolutely incredible, her talent & art installations are so magical, I am in awe of what she has created. My personal favourite image is the garden with Lee sat in a Lotus flower, I guess because it resonates with how I feel about myself right now “Like a lotus flower that grows out of the mud and blossoms above the muddy water surface, we can rise above our defilements and sufferings of life”-Buddhism. The Lotus Flower portrait Lee created has an element of sadness to it (based on my own interpretation), it reminds me of my own battle to fully blossom, to truly find myself as an artist and rise up against negativity. Even my Indian name “Kusuma” means “Little bud” or “Pretty flower not fully bloomed”. The Lotus Flower portrait to me is the most powerful & symbolic, I would love a print of it to frame in my home.
“For weeks , sometimes months, she creates the fabric of a universe born from her mind within the confines of her 3 x 6 m studio. She does so with infinite minutiae and extraordinary patience, in order to exclude any ulterior photographic alteration. Thus materialised, these worlds turn real and concretise : imagination reverts to the tangible and the photo imagery of such fiction testify as to their reality. In the midst of each of these sets stands the artist : those self-portraits however are never frontal, since it is never her visual aspect she shows, but rather her quest for an identity, her desires and her frame of mind.”-Opiom Gallery.
Jee Young Lee’s highly beautiful photographs are a mixture of spectacular self portraits & theatrical performances/room installation pieces that conjure up aspects of the artist’s mind, heart, soul, her dreams and her memory. It is so amazing to know she created these spaces herself with absolutely no help from Photoshop. This young woman is so inspiring, I would love to visit an exhibition of hers and I would love to meet her one day and chat for hours about Art, Life & Dreams whilst sipping Matcha Tea.
For my own degree exhibition in Fine Art I also concentrated on room installation, performance art, dreams, magical realism and the mind. I came up with an alter-ego who lives in a desert like space within my psyche and I used projectors, screens, veils, sand, cushions, music and rose petals to bring this character within me to life. I created a sensual & sensory space for the viewers to interact with her and unlike Jee Young Lee’s images, you could see my face but you couldn’t hear my voice, akin to dreams where something is so close but so far away, my character danced in front of viewers but you couldn’t hear what she wanted to say to you, she had no voice. You can check out a short clip of my installation here. I kind of miss creating fantastical room installations and performances peices, Jee Young Lee has inspired me to perhaps plan a future project.
These images belong to Jee Young Lee. I am merely wanting to show how much her work inspires me.