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Suwon Lee: Landscapes & Self-Portraits

April 5 - May 2, 2021

vortic.art


Light builds what is visible, integrating physical and energy dimensions into spaces and figures, thus expressing their complex identities. A group of landscapes and nude self-portraits register the experience of forced migration and the re-invention of personal experience that it generates.
 

Suwon Lee, a Korean-Venezuelan artist who currently lives and works in Madrid, belongs to that Venezuelan diaspora that has been forced to migrate, to abandon their life and their familiar spaces, due to the socio-political reality and crisis in her country. In this exhibition, Suwon Lee presents a selection of 20 photographs in which she reflects upon her complex and multicultural identity, as well as on the relationships between the physical body and its energetic dimensions. These photographs were taken in Korea, Italy and Spain, the countries that she traveled to after her decision to leave Venezuela. A group of landscapes and nude self-portraits with which Suwon Lee records her transits and experiences, and confronts the outside world with her own needs, experiences and sensitivity.

Landscapes and Self-Portraits is part of the online thematic exhibition Female Voices of Latin America on the London-based digital platform Vortic and consists of 7 "nocturnal landscapes" - urban and natural - in which the interaction of light and shadow creates particular atmospheres that reveal her personal way of seeing and understanding. Alongside these landscapes, we find 3 series of self-portraits, also modulated by the use of light, in which the body itself becomes a territory, a sensitive landscape, which, halfway between presence and absence, gleams and becomes intangible. The landscapes bring forth the way in which Suwon Lee assimilates the places, the particular cultures that she has encountered; in the nude self-portraits, she begins a search or recognition of her condition as a foreigner, and of the fluid and multicultural identity that defines her. Self-Portrait of the Artist, shot in South Korea, is her first foray into the nude, in which the body seems to have been transcended. The Inner Vision and Chorros series were made in Madrid, in her room. In them, by incorporating the use of artificial light, Suwon has drawn energy fields that dynamically link her body with space.

 

The showroom is divided by geographical region and not thematically, showing her own searches and movements around the world. In the first room we see the photos taken in Korea and Iceland (Bundang Plaza, Paju DMZ, Love Motel Pasta, Self-Portrait of the Artist III, The Darkness of Light) and in the second the photos taken in Europe –Spain and Italy- (Moonset [Rome], Madrid After Filomena, Chorro IV, Chorro V and Nocturne in Almería).

 

Text by Sandra Pinardi

Exhibition curated by Aixa Sanchez

To view on the Vortic website click here
 

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Suwon Lee: Paisajes y Autorretratos

5 abril – 2 mayo 2021

vortic.art

Suwon Lee, artista venezolana-coreana que actualmente vive y trabaja en Madrid, perteneciente a esa diáspora venezolana que se ha visto en la necesidad de migrar, de abandonar su vida y sus espacios familiares, forzada por la realidad socio-política y la crisis que se desarrolla en su país. En esta exposición Suwon Lee presenta una selección de 12 fotografías en las que reflexiona acerca de su identidad compleja y multicultural, así como acerca de las relaciones entre el cuerpo físico y sus dimensiones energéticas.  Estas fotografías están realizadas en Corea, Italia y España, los países que ha recorrido luego de su decisión de abandonar Venezuela. Paisajes y autorretratos desnudos en los que Suwon Lee no sólo registra sus tránsitos y sus experiencias, sino que además confronta el mundo exterior con sus propias necesidades, vivencias y sensibilidad.

Paisajes y Autorretratos es parte de la exposición temática Female Voices of Latin America de la plataforma digital basada en Londres Vortic, y consta de 7 “paisajes nocturnos” –urbanos y naturales- en los que el juego de las luces y sombras crean unas atmósferas particulares que revelan sus propios modos de ver y comprender. Junto a estos paisajes, encontramos 3 series de autorretratos, también modulados por el uso de la luz, en los que el propio cuerpo se convierte en un territorio, en un paisaje sensible, que a medio camino entre la presencia y la ausencia resplandece y se hace inasible. En los paisajes se manifiesta el modo cómo Suwon Lee asimila los lugares, las culturas particulares a las que se enfrenta, en los autorretratos desnudos, comienza una búsqueda o reconocimento de su condición de extranjera y de la identidad fluida y multicultural que la define. La serie Self-Portrait of the Artist, elaborada en Corea del Sur, es su primera incursión en el desnudo, en ella el cuerpo pareciera trascenderse. La series Inner Vision y Chorros están elaboradas en Madrid, en su habitación, en ellas al incorporar el uso de una luz artificial, Suwon dibuja campos de energía que vinculan su cuerpo dinámicamente con el espacio. 

La sala de exposición está divida por región geográfica y no temáticamente, mostrando sus propias búsquedas y desplazamientos por el mundo. En la primera sala vemos las fotos realizadas en Corea e Islandia (Bundang Plaza, Paju DMZ, Love Motel Pasta, Self-Portrait of the Artist III, The Darkness of Light) y en la segunda las fotos hechas en Europa –España e Italia- (Moonset [Rome], Madrid After Filomena, Chorro IV, Chorro V y Nocturno en Almería).

Texto por Sandra Pinardi

Exposición curada por Aixa Sanchez 
 



 

expo
Landscapes & Self-Portraits. Vortic Online exhibition, 2021
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works.
Korean Nightscapes, 2019

Self-Portrait of the Artist, 2019

Body of Light, 2020

Landscapes, 2020-2021


 

. caracas . crepuscular . dusk . paisaje . urbanscape . cityscape . architecture . photography

 
 
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