About

Lee Lee

Fine Art – Ecology – Storytelling

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Spanning decades, the themes explored in my work weave visual arts practices into community-based frameworks of eco-cultural preservation and wild land restoration. Stemming from my own ancestry, I started by looking at legacies left by my forefathers, which led to an exploration of genocide and long-term impacts of war. When my son was born, I became obsessed with how we grow and consume food, leading to a deep understanding of the ecologic impacts of a mobilities-centered culture and how the paths of contemporary mobilities were formed during colonialism. Looking towards the future, my current work is about healing land and as an extension, the communities of human and non-human species with whom we share this world.

Born and raised in Denver, I feel most at home in arid, mountain steppe ecologies. Water is at the forefront of current work, with an in-depth investigation of Acequias. These systems work with mountain hydrology to cultivate the desert in a way that broadens alluvial plains to bolster wildlife passages through high deserts. Ongoing work in Maine explores relationships with the landscape and the sea. Formulating community-centered practices or tending public access spaces and and cultivating networks of ‘living seed libraries’ are at the core of our work there. A particular focus is on healing the lingering impacts of severed northeastern forests which were used to build the foundations of the first wave of colonialism. Through all the themes explored in my work, I maintain a figurative painting practice that complements socially engaged fieldworks.

CV | TIMELINE

contact

lee-lee@virtualvoices.org

DENVER | COLORADO

TAOS | NEW MEXICO

BLUE HILL | MAINE

COLLABORATIVE WORKS:
www.virtualvoices .org