In my work, I explore both domestic and public architectural structures, such as staircases or historic monuments that have been displaced from their original contexts. Having lived both in Korea and the United States, my sense of belonging to either one of these cultures has been continuously disrupted. As a result, I have come to view historic architectural structures through the lens of cultural dislocation; I realize now, that when these architectural structures are displaced, the cultures that they represent are also dislodged from their origins.
In an effort to capture my experience of cultural displacement, I reproduce components of architectural structures as sculptural objects and installations in order to evoke both the time and space of its origins. I distort and crop the decorative elements of domestic Colonial houses, reconfigure the scale and material of historic monuments, and combine historic architectural structures with everyday objects. In the work, I transform the architectural structures to dislodge them from their initial function of structure. As a result, in each of the pieces, time becomes fixed and isolated from its conventional cycle, creating memories of space.
나의 작업은 본래의 장소나 문맥으로부터 이전된 역사적, 문화적 건축물에 대한 관심으로부터 출발한다. 2008년 부터 미국 동북부 지역에서 살면서 뉴잉글랜드 콜로니올 양식의 주거 공간에서부터 공공 장소의 기념비까지 다양한 건축물들이 미국이 아닌 다른 문화의 영향을 받아서 지어졌음에 주목하였다. 해외에서 생활해본 사람이면 누구나 그러하듯이 나 역시 미국에서 살면서 문화적 차이를 경험하였다. 이에 적응하려고 끊임없이 노력하였으나 낯선 공간 속에서 느끼는 이질감은 쉽게 없어지지 않았다. 이렇게 내가 경험한 문화적 이질감을 통해서 역사적 건축물들이 본래의 장소로부터 이전되었을 때 그것이 갖는 문화적 의미를 상실함을 알게 되었다.
문화적 이동의 경험을 담고자 특정 문화를 상징하는 역사적 건축물을 조각이나 설치작품으로 재현하는 작업을 하였다. 특히 전체가 아닌 일부분만을 재현함으로써 본래의 공간을 연상시키도록 하였다. 뉴잉글랜드 콜로니올 양식의 주거 공간을 변형하였으며, 오벨리스크와 같은 기념비적 건축물을 일상의 사물과 재조합하였고, 고딕 양식의 장미창을 공의 형태로 재구성하기도 하였다. 또한 버려진 집에서 수거한 앤틱 마룻바닥에 낙원을 상징하는 페르시안 정원 카페트의 문양을 새겨 넣기도 하였다. 작업의 과정에서 기둥, 창문, 마루바닥 등 건축적 요소들의 기능과 용도를 상실하도록 제작하였으며, 그 결과로 각각의 작업들은 “시간의 흐름”으로부터 분리된 공간에 대한 기억으로 남게 된다.
Education
2010 MFA in Sculpture, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI 2007 MFA in Sculpture, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
2004 BFA in Sculpture, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
Solo and Two Person Exhibitions
2012 Kumho Museum, Seoul, South Korea (upcoming)
2011 Notes From In Between, Hudson D. Walker Gallery, Provincetown, MA
I Was There, Doosan Gallery, New York, NY 2007 Extraction, Songeun Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Selected Group Exhibitions
2012 Korean Eye: Energy and Matter, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (upcoming) B19, Humanities Gallery, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY
2011 Epilogue / On The Border, Kyeonggi Musuem of Modern Art, Ansan, South Korea
Casting Memories: Eight Annual AHL Foundation Visual Arts Competition Winners'
Exhibition, ArtGate Gallery, NY, NY
nowHere territories, Triangle Arts Association, Brooklyn, NY
Émigré, Gallery Ehva, Provincetown, MA
Shift and Flow, Dorsky Gallery, Long Island City, NY
Nests, Shells, and Corners, Meramec Contemporary Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Appearances: Hay Room, Gallery Ehva, Provincetown, MA
Room for Error, PAAM, Provincetown Art Association & Museum, Provincetown, MA
2010 EAF10, Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, NY
Open Studios, ISCP, International Studio & Curatorial Program, Brooklyn, NY
HousEART Project, SHCDC, Providence, RI
Boston Young Contemporaries, 808 Gallery, Boston, MA
Brand New Bag, Recess Inc., New York, NY
FAWC Visual Arts Fellows, Hudson D. Walker Gallery, Provincetown, MA
Carnival, Gelman Gallery, Providence, RI
2009 PYT (Pretty Young Thing), 235 Westminster St. Gallery, Providence, RI
Dwelling Places: views of home, Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence, RI
We’ve Killed It, Mounted It, And Cut Its Flesh, Just That Your Face May be Slightly
More Kissable, Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence, RI
Dialog Bauhaus, Gelman Gallery, Providence, RI
2008 Red Carpet, Changdong National Art Studio Gallery, Seoul, Korea
A Piece of a Piece, Changdong National Art Studio Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Awards / Residencies
2012 Special Editions Residency Program, Lower East Side Printshop, New York, NY
The Corporation of Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY
Kumho Young Artist Award, Kumho Museum, Seoul, Korea
Grant, Arts Council Korea, Seoul, Korea
2011 Visual Arts Competition Winner, AHL Foundation, New York, NY
Grant, Arts Council Korea, Seoul, Korea
International and National Residency Program, Triangle Arts Association, Brooklyn, NY
Visual Arts Fellowship, Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA
2010 ISCP, International Studio & Curatorial Program, Brooklyn, NY
Grant, KyeongGi Cultural Foundation, Suwon, Korea
Emerging Artist Fellowship, Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island, NY
Graduate Studies I Grants, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2009 Awards of Excellence, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Full Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
Graduate Student Fellowship, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2008 Changdong National Art Studio, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea 2007 Songeun Arts and Cultural Foundation Grant, Seoul, Korea
Lee Jiyen 