Chengyao Lee
About.
Chengyao Lee is an artist who focus on self expression. He start with a series of island sculpture pieces which connect to self - identity issue. The strong feeling of alienation force Yao rethink what kind of role he or his plays in this society which seems familiar but a bit different from his growing background. Yao tried to express his struggled feeling through his sculptures and paintings. In the 2nd year MFA course, wood carving became his major method to create art work. The concept been expanded to another stage. Real and surreal, reality and dream. Dream is a personal element which base on one's memory. Yao combines his own life experience and culture element to create his latest sculpture pieces '' Dreams ''. The new pieces inherit the previous self -identity idea and it has been explored to the next level. The second Dream piece focus on living between dream and reality. An ambiguity condition which Yao consider as great balance. Wood carving is absolutely a slow progress art. However, The whole progress of carving is like meditation. Carving is not just about shaping, It make your mind and hands work together perfectly. While the entire world is chasing for what most people define as better life, some people believe it is crucial to slow down and listen to themselves.
Before heading to next stage, Yao is going to expand the Dream series works. He wants to see how it might be transformed and also how further it could go. As a sculptor in modern world, Yao will steadily create new works.
ARC.
title. fish and flower
date. 2017
material. wood, aluminum line
size. 20cm x 15cm x 30cm
'' Fish and Flower '' is the work which I am trying to simplify the shape of objects with the lines and conspicuous carved wood. The work which is more playful is also my origin purpose to start this work.
I think golden fish which is fit with material is a good start point because it got many amazing details. Wood and metal lines are the materials which I was looking for.
The idea of tangled lines is inspired by my sketch in the life drawing class. While constructing aluminum lines layer by layer on this project, it is similar to use charcoal visualizing the depth of figures on the papers. This method could make the viewer feel the weight and texture of the works when they look at it.
title. island - kiss
date. 2017
material. pen on clay
This work is a continuation of the island series work. Island can be defined as kind of isolation and loneliness. This island shows more emotional meaning by the part of body I choose.
A solo kiss is a gentle feeling of missing someone. As an island, it is always individual and separate.
title. island - dream
date. 2017
material. wood
The idea of this work is come from my interest of dream which is the combination of our emotion and memory. Baku(tapir) which originated from China is a dream eater in Japanese myth. After people had a bad dream, they will say ''Give it to Baku'' which means do not want to have this kind of dream again. I choose tapir as my model of my work is not only because the meaning it brings out but also the uncanny feeling.
In the beginning, I tend to make it becomes part of my island series which I have done previously. After I carve it with more details, I do not want to put anything on the surface and I just want to let material show itself. For example, the carving marks I left and the colour of wood
. While I was making this work in the studio, some people suggested me the keep the pieces I cut off. I thought it was a great idea because I think it do mean something. Such as time and the fragment of dream.
title. The Abyss
date. 2017
material. watercolor on paper
This work '' The Abyss'' is an idea of showing the feel of depress. I tried to describe this feeling with visual experience. There are two paintings in this work. One is more cautious while another one is more casual. I want to show the mood changing by the contrast of these two paintings.Drawing curving lines in the background is the way that I want to show a unbreathable feeling.
Before I started these works, I was suffering from a depression owing to some personal issues. At that time, I drew a lots of portraits which were based on my imagination. Those emotional lines not only described how the object look but also released my mental stress.
While I decided to transform my sketches into piece of work, in stead of casual lins, organized lines which construct this work is better way to express my idea. The images on the picture which could help to clarify my thought as well.
title. life drawing
date. 2017
life drawing is a process of inspiration of my works. While I capture figures on papers in deferent way, it always make me rethink the way I deal with my sculpture at the same time.
I have attend life drawing class since the first year in MFA. In the class, we are trained to be capable to capture down figures in limited time, mostly 5 to 15 minutes. With limited time, it is crucial that you have to decide which part to focus on and which part should be let go. Sometimes, course leader put more light on model to make the edge of muscles become sharper. These kind of practice inspired me a lot because I always thinking about how to organize every part of figure on the paper. while I drawing, I feel like I am dealing a sculpture at the same time.
title. island - amphibian dream
date. 2018
material. wood
This is the eland idea of the first dream work. The element I put in this work is ambiguity. Newt is the origin idea of the piece. This creature live both on land and water, but mostly in water. It just like people live in reality and dreams. Some people spent most of their time on dreaming while some of them live in reality. It is hard to define what kind of living way is in the water and which one is breathing out of water surface.
This work express more identity concept then the previous one. It is comfortable to stay in a place where you familiar with. Once you moved to somewhere else, you will adapt a new way of living. The past which used to be reality become part of dream and the life ( present ) keep move on.
Ambiguity is kind of condition which kept everything in perfect balance. Sometime, identity is not where you belong.It is about who you really are.
Case studies.
High Holborn Show
The exhibition was on the May of 2017 and this is my second time to be part of tech team in a exhibition. Every details was more simple than the previous one in Peckham while the size of space was just a little bit bigger. Work collecting was not the problem. Everything was settled quite efficient by curators on the fist day. It made curation team stressless if they got whole day to do their job. Unlike the shoebox exhibition which we tried to do both curation and set up on the same day, this time everyone got more time to adjust details.
Life in a shoebox
The space of lift in a shoebox exhibition is quite limited, and it was also the reason why the subject was came out like this. I was in the tech team which helps to set up the exhibition. It was hard to got start in the begging because all the boxes should construct together in the end. It was so hard to find out a point to start with and it was also the first time we actually work together. In the beginning, there were some argument because everyone has their own way to do things. Without communicate to each other, the process was mess up because everyone started with the point which they thought would be more efficient. The crucial point is that once we put up one box, every boxes which is coming up should be side by side. And that means if one box went wrong, we had to adjust all the boxes together. Although it was a small exhibition, there were lots of details which need to be deal with.
One That Holds Everything
The Crypt gallery is a very unique space for a exhibition. I was part of the curator team this time. It was a lot difficulties to overcame while decided which work should go where in the limited time. Different medias, sizes and positions can effect each other easily. Although everything had been planned roughly, it still quite different when we put the work in the space.
My work which been showed in the exhibition was two watercolor painting. It did not work with the most space in the Crypt gallery because paper is not powerful enough to occupy a space. Finally, we tried to hang it on the vault which create a space between painting and wall. And it also create a slight movement for hanging paper.
Netflix and chill
'' Netflix and chill '' was an exhibition been held in Camberwell on March 2018. Most artists were the students from different courses in Ual. The exhibition was in a bar which held this kind of exhibition quite frequently. The transportation is not so convenient but the price to rent the space is pretty low. The crew of students who managed and curated the show very well. To curate a exhibition used to be complex. There are so many element could make a work be outstanding or be hidden. Most works there were wall base, so it won't be a problem to find a corner to install my sculpture piece. Most of audience who came to the show were the friends of artists due to location. However, It was so great to had a show with people from other course. Even thought you had met them before, it was the great opportunity to talked and explained your work to each other.
Critical Analysis.
The Uncanny
'' The uncanny '' is a book which help me to understand and connect my works together. Actually, the word '' uncanny ''is the key word which I am looking for to explain my idea. In first chapter, the author discusses several aspects of the word uncanny. Besides ghostly and strange, it can be a kind of situation. Such as: Something you familiar with been unexpectedly moved to somewhere unfamiliar. Moreover, the word uncanny can represent the feeling of alienation and also solitude. These movement can be physical and also mental. Those descriptions linked to my first island sculpture piece which I tried to express the idea of self-identity. The strong feeling of alienation made me reconsider a crucial and basic question - who am I. Loneliness forces people to face themselves, Both positive and negative parts of you would tangle together. I was struggling in this kind of situation and I create the panting piece ''Abyss'' as the reflection of that period. In the chapter one, author also mention a crucial concept. He said '' It is impossible to think about the uncanny without this involving a sense of what is autobiographical, self - centered, based in one's own experience.''. Everyone's basic understanding is the baseline to define whether one thing is uncanny or not. In contrast, an artist who tend to create works which could be defined as uncanny should read himself more deeply.
Metamorphosis
The book '' Metamorphosis '' is a document of an exhibition in Berlin. The Title '' Metamorphosis '' attract me because I thought it might have some connection with the subject '' dream '' I am dealing with. I could felt strong connection between me and the most artists who participated in the exhibition. Metamorphosis can be discussed in several aspect, it could be biological word which means a creature transform into a totally different appearance. In addition, it could be a combination of to opposite elements. As Monika Schnetkamp said in the foreword in this book '' In their works based on levels of subconscious notions, the Surrealists linked contrasting subject and ideas with each other in order to initiate a poetic and imaginative perception of reality in viewers.''. Nowadays, human's civilization expand unpredictably fast. New kind of media and technology shows up almost every year. It is very easy to lost ability of judgment in this situation. Art works which have similar notion is able to rise people's attention on this kind of issues. The artist Habima Fuchs's work '' Transformations ( Spiral of Hidden Things ) '' has caught my attention. She deals with spiritual content which includes various myths and legends. This relates to the initial concept of my first dream creature. I was wondering what kind of symbol can represent the topic dream in Asian culture because I want to find out the connection between my work and my culture background.
舟越桂Katsura Funakoshi
I have been interested in Katsura Funakoshi's works since I studied sculpture in Taiwan. He is good at expressing the uncanny atmosphere through his work. While you look at his work, you could not tell which direction the figure is looking at. That create a little distance from his work to viewer and it also bring out a sense of mysteriousness. The high level of techniques Katsura Funakoshi shows in his work also impress me. He uses the special method in traditional Japanese wood sculpture which is to insert crystal eyes into the sculpture at the end of the work. Katsura Funakoshi presents the best aspect of wood sculpture by understanding the great features from the materials. He decorate the wood naturally without block the original colour and only polish the necessary parts to create different visual layers. In my mind, his practice is a result of great combinations. Several elements are included in his work such as religion, clown and fusing figures with animals' parts. While I start to create a work, I was thinking about which element I should take into my work because I afraid viewer who is from different culture background could not understand. How Katsura Funakoshi keep the balance between the work and the idea also answer some question in my mind. It seems like he simply put the elements which got strong connection with himself in his work, Letting characters which he creates tell the story by themselves. Although those features are based on the experiences of aesthetics dealing with materials, Katsura Funakoshi's works are like a wood sculpture bible for people to study.
Nicola Hicks, KEEP DARK
Nicola Hicks is an artist who make both sculpture and drawing. In her book '' Keep Dark '', Nicola explain every details behind her works. The way she describes the relationship between sculpture and painting really convince me. Nicola said '' I don't really separate the two [ drawing and sculpture ]. I think all sculpture will tell you that making sculpture is just like drawing in space.''. This description explain the experience I have been went through. While I start my wood carving work '' Dream '', I was attending a life drawing course at the same time. I also find out a strong connection between each other. The influence might not show up straightly. However, the process that I manage the space on the paper makes me deal with my carving in the different way. The curve of outlines and the layers of structure becomes more fluent and connective. And also, drawing can make my sense of measurement become more sensitive. As Nicola said '' In more practical way, if you don't draw your eyes become lazy, and I find that for however long I don't draw, it takes me at least that long of drawing before I'm back into it again. You must think of your eyes as muscles. If you don't use them, they don't work so well.''. Most of Nicola's works make a interesting conversation between human and animals. Animal represent most part of nature, the combination of different animals and figures brings out several results. It could be religious symbol and it also could be the discussion of human nature.
Robert Gober
Robert Gober's works express a strong feeling of uncanny. He moved around different symbols which people familiar with, in tends to leave the messages that he expect audience to understand. The messages are so strong while he constructed and deconstruct the elements which we have seen almost everyday. My first island piece has some connection with this kind of concept of deconstruction. While I was dealing with the self - identity issue which I focus on in 2017, I made a spine island which means the root of a fragmented body by clay. Deconstruction and isolation are two elements which link to each other. Both of them can make audience focus on the work. Moreover, make people get closer, understand the work. In the book '' The uncanny '', the author also mention that Deconstruction might be another name for uncanny. It make something people clearly familiar with becomes uncertain. I think that is why the uncanny feeling is a effective way to catch people's attention. Island, which has a strong feeling of separate from the main land is alway a ideal form to express my concept. Once several personal emotion been clearly separate from my mind, that will allow me to analyze my subconscious entirely.
