Unseen

Woolim Lee

Sacheon, South Korea, b. 1972

The paintings construct the bridge that connects dream and reality. If we could define the artist's world as such, we will eventually be able to discuss happiness since his works let us restore our rights of being able to dream. Lee’s works have a transcending effect which relieve us from the psychological and the physical pain of reality by guiding us back to reality as well as the world beyond, that is, the dreamy and fantastic world. The special devices in his works, for instance, green meadows like soft cushions, and the surface of calm waters, invokes the serenity that viewers associate with this imagery when they look. This is supported by the fact that most of his recent works makes use of horizontal composition, which brings a sense of happiness based on a mild psychological state. It is natural for people to feel happiness by looking at an endless poppy flower field or yellow rape flower field, but not when looking at the roaring sea. His works come across as unrealistic and dreamy because of some special devices he has put on the canvas such as, unrealistic facial color of white or yellow, and actions like flying across the sky or even lying on the water. As a matter of fact, it is almost impossible to witness these scenes in reality. If they exist, it is caused by the actor’s makeup or a magic trick. Nevertheless, it seems like it is also true that his works are based on reality. If you look at the relationship between characters and the landscape itself, removing the devices that cause non-figurative features such as the pose and motion of the person, you cannot find any reasonable evidence to assert that it is not a realistic landscape. The calming plains, which are filled with tranquil forests, or filled with colorful poppies, and the rape flower fields painted all over in yellow, are enough to make a sense of reality even though they are not drawn with realistic brush strokes. But our expectation of this reality is shifted by adding a person into the work. The artist’s willingness to pull us out from the harsh reality and into the ideal world has come up with this unique device that enforces a sense of the unrealistic. It is obvious, for example, his reference to Marc Chagall's musician or the use of the stationary landscape technique of Paul Signac, but it is quite unique when it comes to the back view of a woman lying on the water with her chin resting on her hands. He seems to be successful at creating a distance from reality through this series of painting devices. The reason why most audiences feel unfamiliar when looking at his works is these painterly devices rather than being lost in the background of characters. Once he gets a sense of distance from reality, he brings the audience to surreal horizons through another device on the canvas. It is revealed through the flying couple holding hands and the curved-bodied man who flies and kisses the woman with bouquet. Another axis supporting Lee’s art world is a so-called sensuality. This aesthetic feeling which is directly related to the enthusiasm of life is sometimes a factor leading to eroticism in his paintings. Take a look at the woman lying on the knees of a man dressed in yellow-green clothing. There is no exchange of perceptive eye contact between the eyes of the out-of-focus man and the woman wearing colorful floral clothes. The woman's gaze, which appears out of focus, also looks at three muscular men standing behind the man. The Dalmatian’s eyes are facing the woman upside down, while the hands and face of the three men are reminiscent of the sculptures face down. The unfocused eyes on the paled face and red lips are pictorial devices that bring out his figures, but these are symbols that signify disconnection rather than communication in his paintings. It is no wonder then, to wish for communication due to the interruption. The artist paradoxically depicts the state of fragmented psychological isolation of people, like feelings of loneliness in a crowd, with extravagant colors. And it seems to restore the right of being able to dream, as the bridge that connects the dream to reality. If we can fully understand his works, we will finally be able to discuss happiness.