Lee Bul
Lee Bul
“Working in sculpture and installation, Lee Bul culls the form and content of her art from diverse sources, including film, literature, and modern architecture as well as both European and South Korean political and cultural history. Reconceived in elaborate new combinations, these influences shape the artist’s fantastic and often disconcerting dystopian vision. With a sensibility that is closely aligned with science fiction, Lee’s work investigates the ways that modern art, architecture, and technology have shaped both our real and imagined worlds. She is known for her Cyborg series (1997–2011), which is composed of sexualized and anatomically amorphous silicone robotic figures, whose slick forms are deeply informed by manga and anime, a style of comic-book illustration first created in Japan. Embodied in these uncanny human surrogates are the desires and anxieties surrounding genetic engineering, cloning, and cosmetic surgery, concerns that arise from the increasing conflation of the body and technology.”