Haejung Lee
Home: Toronto, Ontario
Title: Groundwater
Media: Soft pastel and graphite
Dimensions: 46 x 56 cm
Website: justhaejunglee.com
Instagram: @haejunglee_
ARTIST STATEMENT
My obsession of documentation has become a major influence in my artistic practice. Each work represents a little piece of me that has been archived, otherwise may be forgotten through time. Works can contain fragments of memories, moments within time, or internal struggles that may still be on-going or have passed through life. In order to fully express the complexity of the subject matter, I juxtapose elements within reality in a surrealistic manner. In this way, I create a photographic image that captures both visual and emotional factor of the subject matter. The works are presented to the viewers in hope of evoking their own life’s uniqueness and find beauty in the little details that make up who they are.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Moving from South Korea to a rural town in Canada at the age of 10 in 2001; learning a new language, discovering the existence of racial differences through discrimination, and trying to find my own identity all presented itself without guidance. It was then when I started to become obsessed with documenting my inner feelings and thoughts in effort to lay it all out, hoping to piece together a clear answer. As language was often a limiting factor – slowly forgetting my native language while still being an ESL student, I found immense freedom of expression through visual art. This obsession eventually becomes a habit that still continues to present day.