Stage of Mind<\/strong> is a series of \u00a0surreal photographs constructed by South Korean artist JeeYoung Lee<\/strong> in her tiny studio confined within an area of 3 x 6 metres. Lee spends weeks and sometimes even months transforming her studio space in to colourful and momentary dreamscapes. Different sets consisting of vivid scenes are created with various materials portraying the artist’s dreams, past memories and personal experiences. Lee focusses on the precise details while creating the sets in order to exclude any digital manipulation after the hand-built, intricate dreamscapes are photographed.<\/p>\n

Childhood<\/strong><\/p>\n

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JeeYoung Lee explains, “By building the space with my personal, psychological experiences in everyday life, I try to visualize my inner world of which the meanings cannot be value-judged. My work, in essence, records my concerns and process of growing up. It narrates and dramatizes my life stories.”<\/p>\n

Broken Heart<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In the midst of each of these sets stands the artist\u00a0: 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. Her imaginary is a catharsis which allows her to accept social repression and \u00a0frustrations. The moment required to set the stage gives her time to meditate about the causes of her interior conflicts and hence exorcise them; once experienced, they in turn become portents of hope.<\/p>\n

Flu<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cLee\u2019s constructed realities belong to the \u201cdirectorial mode,\u201d employed since the 1980\u2032s by\u00a0Post-modernist\u00a0photographers in\u00a0repudiation of the Modernist practice that sought truth in the everyday world. Lee\u2019s \u201cconstructed image photography\u201d may be compared to the works of German sculptor and photographer Thomas Demand\u2026U.S. installation artist and photographer Sandy Skoglund\u2019s orchestrated room-size installations. But in contrast to these earlier artists, Lee\u2019s subjects are deeply personal and intensely psychological. Drawing upon prodigious powers of imagination, she\u00a0labours\u00a0for months to create effects that seem to expand and contract physical space.\u00a0And always, a lone figure inhabits and completes her narratives. JeeYoung Lee assumes the roles of set designer, sculptor, performer, installation artist, and photographer \u2013 and she executes them all magically.\u201d – says\u00a0Curator\u00a0Hyewon Yi<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Gamer<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Last Supper<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong>Monsoon Season<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0My Chemical Romance<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Never Ending Race<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Treasure Hunt<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong>Resurrection<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Panic Room<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Nightscape<\/strong><\/p>\n

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OPIOM Gallery<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in Opio, France will be presenting Lee\u2019s first European exhibition, a selection of her series ‘<\/strong>Stage of Mind<\/a>‘<\/strong>.<\/em>\u00a0The exhibition opens\u00a0February 7 and runs through March 7, 2014.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stage of Mind is a series of \u00a0surreal photographs constructed by South Korean artist JeeYoung Lee in her tiny studio confined within an area of 3 x 6 metres. Lee spends weeks and sometimes even months transforming her studio space in to colourful and momentary dreamscapes. Different sets consisting of vivid scenes are created with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,182],"tags":[6872,5337,341,6873,6871,2219,1488],"yoast_head":"\n