Woo-Bock lee
Woo-bock Lee.
“Paper Art”
VernissagE
20 November 2010
13:30 - 18:00
20 November - 15 December 2010
Monday - Saturday
12:00 - 15:00
or
by appointment.
VälkoMNa!
The marriage of robust steel wire with delicate, but resilient sheets of Han-ji,
the recycled mulberry-based traditional paper that the artist salvaged from old Korean
school books, is the innovative medium of choice used in the multifarious collage,
painting and sculptural works exhibited by Woo-Bock Lee.
The aged paper, with its autumnal colour-scale of golden browns and contrasting
black ink calligraphy and red seal markings, exudes a poetic atmosphere of historical
story-telling, which suits her artistic purposes perfectly. The energy and strength
required to mould steel mesh, bearing the various curved or angular forms, leaves
clearly visible evidence of Woo-Bock Lee’s vigorously creative work process.
“Budskap” is a sculpture firmly rooted in the Korean custom of writing communications on bits of paper twisted into a loop and pinning them near the entrance to a tea shop sure to be visited by a loved one or intimate friend. The secretive power of anticipation radiating from such an unopened note is further intensified by The Message enlargement, articulating its magnified significance to the intended addressee.
Repetition of a similar form motif lends a temporal dimension to “Vi”, an open series of diminutive collages, exploring the manifold variations attained by interweaving a triangle within a rectangular pictorial field. Time seems to be evoked by the triad that appears to sail reincarnated anew, through each brilliant miniature to the next.
Distance is a further fundamental dimension explored in the sculpture, “Parabola”, by
Woo-Bock Lee. The concave surface of an actual video antenna determines the
circular form which the artist has papered with a cluster of warm-toned Han-ji, applied
with gold leaf and paint. This work appears to encapsulate the artist’s intense efforts
to maintain close communication with the cultural heritage of her native Korea.
Woo-Bock Lee has created a personal visual language, utilising a synthesis
of traditional materials and techniques with geometric abstraction, achieving
a meditative harmony and serving as a cultural bridge between east and west.
William Wareing, Curator
