Since 2007 I have been watching how Lee Dohyun has practiced, I can recognize the remarkable change after she joined the artist-in- residency program, which is supported by Gwangju Museum of Art.
In those work she embodies surrealistic elements as well as collage of diverse egos as an artist. In addition, she uncovers the secret of how she was growing up just as it was. It goes without saying that it shows great courage to face the other ego inside of herself as an artist. It is possible to give statements in regards to the essence of secret only when the teller has to detach herself from the subject and the time. That can explain how Lee’s secret consciousness for art has carefully formulated and developed. Through her artwork, she discloses sad stories in the past, or even the regretful past in personal way and sometimes in a roundabout way. The true meaning of her work is formed through an endless battle with herself. Accordingly, her different egos merge into the production of art and then it creates her alter ego, which can be referred to second self. For this reason, whenever I see her painting I can not stop coming up the name of two great woman artists, who were really stood out in their time, Frida Kahlo, Sophie Calle. They, moreover, have something in commons with Lee. As they may seem similar in the coexistent with the ego, the others and the spectators within their paintings, the way to depict the alter ego is obviously different from each other.
In Lee’s work note, she identifies herself to “Paprika”, who is the main character of Japanese animated science fiction film as she believes that she can cure psychological trauma through the other self which is buried in her dream, unconsciousness like that of the movie. I assume that, however, she has built up a lot of life energy more than that of the character, “Paprika.” Because her paintings are able to heal her mental injury as well as the others’ psychological wounds. It would depend on how we see the artist as is ‘double- edged sword’ in which she might use all the energy up for healing others, in fact, on the way of creation of work she is cured and increasing the strength to endure hardships in life at the same time. The process can both be resulted in the obsessed pleasure and indulgence for oneself as well as the self-realization. If you want to talk about the film, <Paprika> you have to have the passion to search for something inside when you see this show. In particular, you need to put all your efforts to find out the elements in relation with [searching, the alter-ego, and execution] of empirical area of the existence. Otherwise, you may encounter the various relative contradictions in advance before you perceive the secret place created by the artist. Human natures reveal the secret of the self or cover it with the occasion.
It can be said that her work carries symbolic images, such as the moon, fire, butterfly, mask, flower and hermaphrodite, which has strong meaning in her experiences. Above all, her work has been developed in the course of figuring out all these elements. As the appreciation might differ depending on each individual’s viewpoint, they generally one thing in common to find out the treatment for the conflict between individual and individual, person to person in her work. While the appreciation, the beauty of her work is so charming that the viewer may fall in love with it without recognition. As we see in the theory of Lacan, a French psychoanalyst, who claimed that desire and unconsciousness of human beings is structured with language, the inside of humans are expressed not being aware of the signification. In every person’s mind, there are ill feelings which are invisible desire. In Lee’s painting, every single desire that has not been spoken clearly disclosed. Thus, when you want to resolve the bitterness, and it is likely that when you suddenly wake up but you have nowhere to go to, or you get disappointed, you are hoping that you can find the way to go somewhere through her work.
As you see her work penetrating the fantasy that is visible, keep looking into the inside, you might feel that the boundary between the self and the other would be blurred. Would it be the most essence of Lee’s work the unspeakable secret letting the viewers is fascinated with her aesthetics?