Rising Korean artist's inaugural preformance at MMCA depicts desire and the debris it leaves behind
Lee Mi-re rose to global prominence with visually intense installations created with silicone, ceramics, fabrics, chains, oil and other materials reminiscent of human organs or bodies. The kinetic installations dripped liquid, spluttered and whirred, overwhelming its viewers.
After her recent solo exhibition “Open Wound” at the Tate Modern in London, she unveiled her first-ever performance at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, in Seoul.
"I was invited by a curator at MMCA and had the opportunity to work in a theater for the first time. Since it's a space that is clearly different in nature from the exhibition halls and galleries I usually work in, I wanted to try things I hadn’t done before," the artist told The Korea Herald about her inaugural performance at the museum’s theater space, adding that she saw this unfamiliar setting as a chance to learn a lot.
“My strongest desire as an artist is to impress audiences who love my work,” she noted.
The setting for the performance on Friday was seemingly the artist’s installation work itself -- silicone and fabric hung on battens: discarded materials Lee collected from the outskirts of Seoul, along with deconstructed elements from the artist’s earlier works.
Then the battens collapsed on the floor and the materials scattered. Red lighting and the heavy metal song "Dopesmoker” accompanied the beginning of the 40-minute performance titled “Hometown to Come.”
Actress Bae Seon-hui roamed across the materials on the floor singing a song to the melody of “Part of Your World” from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” and sweeping the floor. At times, she spoke to a person named “Hana,” who does not appear on the stage, with words such as “I bought a dream for you.”
The performance resonates with feelings of frustration from chasing a dream, surrender, regret, sorrow -- but also a strong inner drive to continue and persevere, according to the MMCA.
Through the performance, Lee questions human fantasies about desire, as well as human vulnerability. "Waste is the dark side of production and a state where all of our dreams will eventually return," the artist said.
After the show, the installation was reassembled, allowing the audience to examine it.
Lee, 37, is based in Seoul and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
yunapark@heraldcorp.com
