05/01/2024
Between Cute and Cataclysm: LEE’s ‘Dreaming about Ham Sandwich’ Explored
by Dino Rib
As a long-time friend of LEE, I happened to have witnessed LEE’s creative research and practices throughout the years since 2014, particularly having involved in various occasions such as “Under.Line” and “Non-Solo”, and this time at "Dreaming about Ham Sandwich after the End of the World" as guest performer in the closing performance. I wish this article could offer a rather analytical perspective on, not only on the show itself, but how LEE’s creative concern and practices might make sense in this particular occasion.
In the exhibition "Dreaming about Ham Sandwich after the End of the World", artist LEE explores a mixed use of materials that creates a dialogue between the organic and the artificial. Often seen in her recent practices, LEE's utilizations of self-invented materials which often grow over time and adopt organic forms, seem to resonate with a sense of "cuteness" that appeals to the artist's aesthetic sensibilities. These materials intertwine with daily objects collected from her social and personal networks, allowing the organic to graft onto the man-made, subsequently ending up with a physicalized resolution of the artist’s emotional landscape.
# # Social Fabric
LEE's exhibition blurs the lines between art creation and social interaction. The “H.P. Night” event, an informally invited gathering where guests from her personal network brought their own food for hot-potting, not only interlaced the art-making and art-exhibiting stages with personal connections and celebrating the necessity of socialization, but also mirrored the process of collecting and transforming found objects in her installation works. Such emphasis on socialization and contextualization of material is not just a method for art-making, but is intrinsic to LEE’s art itself. Yet, as a dilemma, the "Single Tango", LEE’s doppelgänger that dances around the exhibition space, often unable to home itself for charging, resembles the artist's own search for identity and belonging within the confines of the (art) world.
# # and Material Aesthetics
LEE's practice, reminiscent of her earlier participation in solo exhibition “Non-Solo: Reclaiming Little Things” and exhibition series "Under.Line", employs minimal text and focuses on the visual interplay of form, colour, and space. The spatial relationships between objects fill the venue with, instead of cultural concerns, a physical and visual presence that demands to be felt rather than read. The artist’s choice of materialisations in this show suggested a subtle layer of emotional content, transforming the materials into metaphors of struggles, such as the organic forms that could resemble human cells, reminding one of possible uncontrollable growth within everyone of us.
# # Unspoken Territory, The In/visible Ham
The understated emphasis on the notion of "territory" within the artist's statement contrasts with the exhibition's spatial dynamics, where the concept of “aiming to establish a sense of settlement” is hinted at within the process rather than explicitly shown. Such subtlety invites viewers to proactively make sense of the rather minimal and abstract presentation. While the need of establishing boundary and territory often relates to unsettlement of distance between self and others, the artist’s physical presence—or absence—in the venue could profoundly impact the audience's sentimentality to the work and their interpretation of the LEE’s possible messages. (as if what a piece of ham could mean when being consumed as a ham sandwich)
# # # Ambiguity, Absurdity, Aphasia, Articulation
The exhibition's title, "Dreaming about Ham Sandwich after the End of the World," offers a poignant sense of ambiguity. The act of “dreaming” (rather than “making” or “eating”, for example) about a ham sandwich in a post-apocalyptic setting provokes imagination out of absurdity, which might ultimately point towards the artist's existential situation. In a world where art serves as a non-verbal voice, LEE’s exhibition whispers questions about the necessity and beauty of ambiguity. Is such a gesture a result of aphasia caused by the unsettled reality, or is it an articulated choice of expression with the optimal distance? LEE’s creations offer an alternative from the logical, a space where beauty operates as a veil, inviting contemplation on what is said, what is unsaid, and the beauty that lies within the necessity of withholding.
* The article was composed with the aid of ChatGPT-4. For the prompt and process, refer to https://poe.com/s/EdzZWYMxQEQTxjJldeOu
《由可愛到世界末日：LEE嘅「夢諗火腿治」探索》�作者：Dino Rib
作為LEE嘅老朋友，我有幸喺自2014年以來見證咗LEE嘅創意研究同實踐，特別係參與咗各種場合，例如「Under.Line」同「Non-Solo」，而今次會喺「世界末日之後夢諗火腿治」中作為閉幕表演嘅嘉賓演出者。我希望這篇文章能夠提供一個分析性嘅視角，不僅僅係關於展覽本身，更係關於LEE嘅創作關注同實踐喺這特定場合中可能嘅意義。
LEE嘅展覽「世界末日之後夢諗火腿治」中，LEE探索咗物料嘅混合使用，創造出有機同人造之間嘅對話。喺佢近期嘅創作中經常見到，LEE 使用自行發明嘅物料，隨時間生長並採取有機形態，似乎與一種吸引藝術家審美感覺嘅「可愛感」產生共鳴。這些物料同佢從社交同個人網絡收集嘅日常物件相交織，使有機物能夠嫁接到人造物上，最終形成藝術家情感景觀嘅物質化解決方案。
# # #社交織布�LEE HAM嘅展覽模糊咗藝術創作同社交互動之間嘅界限。「H.P.夜」活動，一個非正式邀請嘅聚會，參加者來自LEE個人網絡，帶嚟自己嘅食物來火鍋，唔單止將藝術製作同展示階段同個人關係交織在一起，慶祝社交嘅必要性，而且反映咗佢喺裝置作品中收集同轉化發現物品嘅過程。這種對社交同物料情景化嘅強調，不單只係藝術創作嘅方法，而且係LEE藝術本身嘅固有部分。然而，作爲一種困境，「探戈機械人」，LEE喺展覽空間中四處舞動嘅分身，往往搵唔到路返家充電，好似藝術家自己喺（藝術）世界範圍內尋找身份同歸屬感嘅探索。
# # #空間同物料美學�LEE嘅實踐，令人聯想到佢之前參加嘅個展「物。物。物。地」同系列展覽「Under.Line」，使用最少嘅文字，專注於形態、顏色同空間之間嘅視覺相互作用。物體之間嘅空間關係為場地帶來嘅，不是文化關注，而是一種需要感受而非閱讀嘅物理同視覺存在。藝術家喺這個展覽中所選擇嘅物質化，暗示咗一層情感內容嘅細微層次，將物料轉化為掙扎嘅隱喻，例如可能象徵人體細胞嘅有機形態，提醒人們我哋每個人內在可能嘅不可控制嘅成長。
# # #隱藏嘅領土，隱形/可見嘅火腿
喺藝術家嘅陳述中對「領土」概念嘅輕描淡寫嘅強調，同展覽嘅空間動態形成對比，喺過程中暗示咗「旨在建立定居感」嘅概念，而唔係直接顯示出來。這種微妙之處邀請觀眾積極去理解這種極簡抽象嘅呈現。建立界限同領土嘅需要經常同自我同他人之間嘅不安定距離有關，藝術家喺場地內嘅物理存在——或者缺席——可能深刻影響觀眾對作品嘅感性同對LEE可能訊息嘅解讀。（好似一件火腿喺被作為腿治食用時嘅意義一樣）
# # #模糊性、荒謬性、失語症、表達
展覽嘅名稱「世界末日後夢想煲治三文治」提供咗一種尖銳嘅模糊感。喺一個末日後嘅設定中「夢想」（而不是「製作」或者「食用」，例如）一個火腿三文治嘅行為激發咗由荒謬中產生嘅想像，最終可能指向藝術家嘅存在狀況。喺一個藝術作為非語言嘅聲音嘅世界中，LEE嘅展覽小聲提問關於模糊性嘅必要性同美麗。這樣嘅姿態係由唔安定嘅現實所導致嘅失語症結果，抑或係一種有著最適表達距離嘅明確選擇？LEE嘅創作提供咗一種邏輯之外嘅選擇，一個美麗如面紗般運作嘅空間，邀請人們去思考所說嘅、未說嘅，以及保持沉默所需嘅美麗。
* 以上廣東話文章由英文原文經 ChatGPT-4 翻譯，除了小量修正外，儘量以原文刊登。 如欲了解翻譯過程，請參照 https://poe.com/s/lJRyVIjgKEhuqgSKK8R4
