Bovey LEE: The Universe is Luxurious
Oct 26 - Nov 19, 2022
Opening Reception: Oct 26 (Wed), 5-8 pm

Grotto Central
11am - 6 pm, Monday - Saturday (Closed on Sundays and public holidays)
Enquiry: info@grottofineart.com / +852 21212270

Statement

In my latest body of work, The Universe is Luxurious, I continue my thematic exploration of human migration, this time with a focus on recent advancements in technology and space exploration. Using my chosen medium of hand cut Xuan (rice) paper and my research-heavy practice, I examine humans’ relationship to the many technologies we have created and how our behaviors toward nature and history need both urgent and profound shifts as we charge forward into a tech-centric world. My layered and detailed imagery utilizes the traditional art of cut paper to investigate and probe these contemporary concepts. 

While the works are new, the ideas have long been of interest to me. My second MFA dissertation in digital arts, “Body Diaspora,” for which this new series is based, was written in 2000. I am fascinated by the fact that many technologies of the present were conceived decades prior – digital avatars and cyborg, augmented and virtual reality, etc. What has evolved is the digital capabilities to see these ideas actualized. 

The works in this series are grouped in two unique but related themes: our societal shift towards near complete digitization, and the new phase of space exploration and inquiry into the possibility of planetary colonization. Paired with natural motifs, each of the eight works in the series are based around one of these ideas and titled accordingly: Water Lilies/Video Games, Butterflies/Genome, Chrysanthemums/Metaverse, Lotuses/Robots, Sun Moths/Rockets, Lilies/Web3, Plum Blossoms/Webb Telescope, and Peonies/Zoom. Two triptychs based on cosmology are also included, Phoenix/Big Bang and Dragon/Wormhole, as well as an animation using some of these cut paper pieces reimagined in narrative form. 

The circular shape of several works may be reminiscent to some of spiritual iconography – Mandalas, Chakras, sundial, or the idea that the past and present together create a mystical circle. The circle also mimics, on a micro scale, the shape of a human cell or an atom. On a macro scale, it could be the orbital path, and the expanding universe. Aesthetically and conceptually, symmetry is another unifying element, and references the human desire for structure and order while facing many challenges brought on by a rapidly evolving world. Balance is fundamental to the laws that govern our bodies and the cosmos, which I represent by using repeating imagery – flora and fauna, DNA strands, icons of AR and VR, and ornate border patterns – to create a sense of ordered chaos. The pieces are dense with details, but I want the viewer to feel as if they can be easily navigated through investigative looking, letting the elements and ideas reveal themselves layer by layer. 

In this new series, I draw a throughline from the ancient to the modern, from Earth to outer space, from body to mind, from the natural to the artificial, and from a pre-digital age to our current digital life. What do these changes mean for our existing ideologies, traditions, cultures, and customs? What is the role of nature if it can be digitally augmented or artificially grown on another planet? What is a human body if it is integrated with a machine?

My practice embodies my interest in humanity, our relationship with nature and each other, and in understanding how technology and modernity are affecting our global community. My work is an invitation to consider our role as citizens of the world, to revel in its challenges and mysteries, and ultimately to find a harmonious union of our past and future.

Bovey Lee, Oct 2022