The Monster
Exhibition 2 - 30 March 2024
Crafted from a diverse range of repurposed materials, “The Monster” envisions a traumatised, diminutive creature, the protagonist, who becomes ensnared within his own imaginative realm. As psychological dioramas, the artworks project a series of unsettling scenes within the creature’s mind.
The monster embodies both internal and external pain and suffering. In this chaotic world, it has constructed for itself an imaginary sanctuary for contemplation. Claire Lee was drawn to the allure of ruins and rites. Tactile and fragile, these previously lost or discarded objects resemble orphaned entities to her. She endeavoured to reassemble these “fragile fragments.”
These works, created between 2020 and 2023, propose an “aesthetic inquiry” in times of individual and collective anguish, set against the backdrop of global conflicts and personal insecurities. The culmination of this intimate three-year artistic and personal journey, which immersed her in materials, is the site-specific installation curated by the artist. It comprises dioramas, objects, paintings, and photo prints. Additionally, selected prose written by Claire during the period is interwoven into the ritualistic presentation.
An independent exhibition curated by the artist, held at Yrellag Gallery in Hong Kong.
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「這作品系列幻想一個受創的小怪物，被帶到其想像之境地。就像一個心理小劇場，在其腦海中投放出一幕幕令人縈繞於心的場景。」 從各種重新演繹的物料中出現，「怪物」見證自身和他人內心的痛苦和苦難，在混沌的世界裏為自己創造了一個想像中的思緒避風港。 「為什麼我們被廢墟和祭祀儀式所吸引?」李氏反思着。《怪。物》之「物」亦有物料之意。
觸感和脆弱，或曾遭遺失丟棄的物件，這些東西幾乎就如孤零之物。她試圖將這些碎片重新組合在一起。 這些作品置身於環球衝突和個人不安全感的脈落中提出「美學探究」。
這個由藝術家策劃的場域特定裝置由立體場景、物件、繪畫和照片印刷組成，是她三年間親近地沉浸在物料探索的藝術和個人歷程的結果。還有李氏撰寫的文字將在祭祀儀式般的場景中散落呈現。
SELECTED ARTWORKS
One day, I accidentally broke a bowl. Instead of putting it away, I began to transform it into something unexpected. It was simply an experiment, a journey to deepen my connection with the bowl, even though it could no longer serve its original purpose. However, in the process of evolving, it revealed a higher purpose that soothed my mind with the openness we shared in its fragility. The bowl is adorned with pieces of clay, paper, pottery, brass, and plants.
T H E
R U I N E D
T H E A T R E
Bird wire doesn't stop wings, and
rubbles can be rearranged
it is imagination that conquer chaos
be torn the curtains, ruin as backdrop
to reality, we dream on
3-dimensional stage set: metal frame, ink on paper, metal wire, pottery shards, rusty nails
These cheeky and nocturnal mythical creatures, resembling imaginary friends, call out to play. I created the toy theatre from an old wood tray and salvaged papers and wood shards.
A detail view: I was thinking of creating a hole, like an eye, that would serve as both an entry and exit. However, after thinking about it, it reminded me of Ernest Hemingway for some reason.
I imagined the last scene: the last gorilla walking away, amidst all the beauty, into the wilderness, retreating into something deeper…
Composition of objects: The dog is patiently waiting - the altar of loyalty, affection, protection.
A found old wooden photo frame with doors, its charred surface holding ink on paper. Standing before this installation evokes a sense of reverence, and the darkness in my works speaks volumes about the light it illuminates. Isn’t that the duality of life?
M E L A N C H O L I A, ink on cotton wool, salvaged wood frame
A detail view: a A snug, crafted from an old wooden box, stands with a chair contemplating the force of a colossal paper flower.
A wooden canary cage was transformed into a diorama. Set the scene using an old scarf with treatments. A bear cub ventures out into a deep, dark forest, unaware that it will become the walking light in the darkness.
Consequences of one action.
On a large folded paper I cut a hole, an action leads to a multiverse, parallel universes, in a manner of speaking, the open wounds lie parallel to each other because of one action, and our infinite number of actions.
Bodily expression of emotion
In addition to exploring everyday surrounding objects such as wooden boxes, paper, textiles, and ceramics, Claire Lee also perceives body movements as integral components of her artistic expression. She captured video footage of her body movements and postures, contemplating her mental state as she created. In her text, she cited emotive body expression as a source of inspiration:
“Although I am not a dancer, I sought to explore my body language, almost as if mourning the loss of identities of cherished objects.”
Subsequently, she incorporated some of these dance movements into the dioramas she crafted, ultimately culminating in a series of theatrical imageries on digital prints.
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除了探索日常周邊的物件，如木盒、紙、紡織品和陶瓷，她也將身體動作視為作品「materials」的一部分。Claire Lee 嘗試拍攝一些她的身體動作和姿勢，在過程中思考她在創作背後的心理狀態。她在文字紀錄中提到以 Body Language 作為靈感：
「我不是舞者，但我想探索我的肢體語言，就像為我們所珍惜的事物失去身分而悲傷一樣。」
後來，她將其中一些舞蹈動作融入立體物料中，最終形成了一系列迷你舞台佈景的影像作品。
SELECTED ARTWORKS - Photo Prints
THE EMBRYO ROOM, Claire LEE, 2023
42 x 59.4cm print size, 58.5 x 80 x 0.5cm frame size Print on Japanese Washi Paper
OH MY BURSTING HEART, Claire LEE, 2023
A RUBBLE WHISPERER, Claire LEE, 2023
All images courtesy of the artist. Interview courtesy of RTHK, Yrellag Gallery and the artist.