Shadows of This World Cast on Three Layers of Stage
Woolim Lee
Woolim Lee’s works evoke the gorgeous designs of traditional blue-and-white porcelain, lavishly painted with cobalt blue pigment. After first being imported from China’s Ming Dynasty in the early fourteenth century, blue-and-white porcelain became very popular in the Joseon Dynasty. Starting in the mid-fifteenth century, under the reign of King Sejo, an abundance of outstanding blue-and-white porcelains were produced in Suncheon, Jeolla Province, and blue-and-white porcelain remained one of the representative types of Korean ceramics until the late Joseon Dynasty. Around the seventeenth century, however, the cobalt pigment became very expensive and difficult to acquire, and was thus banned in Korea and replaced by cheaper alternatives. But by the late Joseon period, a stable supply of high-quality cobalt pigments had been restored, leading to the wide production of Joseon blue-and-white porcelain with unique aesthetics characterized by the balance of painted designs and blank space, which were revered even beyond their counterparts from China or Japan. Within this historical context, Woolim Lee’s efforts to integrate the lyrical designs of Korean blue-and-white porcelain with the media of painting are particularly noteworthy. Interestingly, Lee typically expresses these elaborate designs on the bodies of animals, representing an intriguing progression from the clothing with resplendent, natural patterns worn by people in many of his earlier works.
The pictorial plane of Lee’s works often has three distinct layers or stages. The first is the frontal space where most of the objects are placed, like still-life paintings. Usually painted in gray and separated from the background by a blurred border, this space functions as a stage or runway on which the animals and plants pose. At the same time, it also tends to hold shadows from light sources in the upper part of the painting, conveying a reflective ambience. The second layer is the background, which might be occupied by the shadows of tree branches, like projections on the backdrop of a stage (Landscape with a Chicken, 2021), or by a distant landscape that is out of focus (A Walk, 2018). Finally, at the very bottom, the third layer contains the shadows of objects or people that are not visible, but which seem to be found just outside the frame of the painting. In A Walk, for example, the shadow of a woman riding a bicycle behind a running dog is cast across the bottom of the painting, while Landscape with a Tiger (2021) includes the shadows of a seated man casting a fishing pole and a woman standing behind him and reading.
Lee’s method of dividing the plane into three distinct spaces recalls the methods of stage directors like Robert Wilson, who has been known to divide the stage in order to juxtapose actions occurring in different times and spaces. In productions of The Lady from the Sea and Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien, for example, Wilson used this technique to simultaneously show scenes from the past, present, and future. Similarly, Woolim Lee’s works seem to be divided into three separate times: the time of mythical narratives, inhabited by animals wearing symbolic patterns of blue or red; the time of memory or reenactment, where images of people embracing (Landscape with a Chicken) or relaxing on the beach (A Walk) flicker in the distance; and the real space-time of the present, which is implied by the foreground shadows. Strikingly, this space exists just beyond the edge of the work, in (or perhaps behind) the position of the viewer.
As such, the animals in Lee’s paintings seem to signify the idealized natural landscape represented in the designs from blue-and-white porcelain. The other-worldly atmosphere of this realm is accentuated by flowering cacti and tropical plants sprouting here and there, tropical birds in brilliant colors, and even an old gramophone, evoking the auditory sense. The simultaneous affinity and disparity between the animals adorned in designs and Lee’s earlier figures wearing flower patterns could represent the relationship between the subject and the objectified. At the same time, through the use of shadows, the artist emphasizes the flow of light from a time and space beyond the pictorial plane, whether from an indoor room or from a walk in nature. The integration of this worldview serves as the starting point for appreciating Woolim Lee’s art.
As such, the animals in Lee’s paintings seem to signify the idealized natural landscape represented in the designs from blue-and-white porcelain. The other-worldly atmosphere of this realm is accentuated by flowering cacti and tropical plants sprouting here and there, tropical birds in brilliant colors, and even an old gramophone, evoking the auditory sense. The simultaneous affinity and disparity between the animals adorned in designs and Lee’s earlier figures wearing flower patterns could represent the relationship between the subject and the objectified. At the same time, through the use of shadows, the artist emphasizes the flow of light from a time and space beyond the pictorial plane, whether from an indoor room or from a walk in nature. The integration of this worldview serves as the starting point for appreciating Woolim Lee’s art.