A conversation with artist Yona Lee
Yona Lee ‘Kit-Set In-Transit’ 2020. Image courtesy of the artist and Fine Arts, Sydney
Yona Lee (she/her) is a Korean artist based in Auckland, New Zealand. Yona makes sculptural objects and installations that combine elaborate linear structures of stainless steel tubing with everyday objects of urban and domestic spaces.
Kia ora Yona, how are you doing?
I’m doing good - a bit busy but I think I’m starting to handle it better in terms of time and production!
What are your inspirations
Aside from music, my main inspiration comes from conversations with people.
When you think about an artist, you think about the work solely belonging to the artist; they do all the work and come up with the concept, but in actuality, the surrounding community allows the artist to realise the idea.
Functionality is a significant aspect of your art (for example, having tables, beds, and even an iPhone docking station). What is the reason for this?
I had a show in Seoul back in 2016. At the time, I didn't emphasise the functionality of the objects, so the decision was entirely arbitrary. I had minimal support during that exhibition, I had five days and one assistant to help me install. I didn't have time to go back to my residency, so I slept in the gallery in the bed I installed. The original purpose of the bed wasn't for sleeping; it was more a prop to signify the different spaces coming together; however, I quickly realised that I was making a liveable structure.
I was thinking about a project for Te Tuhi in Auckland and I decided that I wanted to emphasise the functionality of the work. The level of interaction was so overwhelming that it completely changed my view of the work. I didn't expect it, and the structure was not ready for that level of interaction, so I had to revisit it several times for maintenance.
In a way, I also wanted to challenge the rules within galleries. For example, don't touch the work or stand too close, or the alarm will go off and the guards will look at you (which is so embarrassing). I've always found these experiences to be so frustrating. It limits the experience of art, there's always a barrier in front of the sculpture, and it distracts the work.
Yona Lee ‘Lamp in Transit’ 2020. Image courtesy of the artist and Fine Arts, Sydney
How did you develop the themes around commuting and consumption around your work “In Transit”
At the time I was doing a residency in Korea, I was spending so much time commuting. Whether in trains, subways, taxis, busses - even thinking about the flight time from Korea to New Zealand being 12 hours. There was a slow realisation of how the transportation system dramatically changes our perception of space, time and distance.
If you compare travelling by walking rather than taking a car, the car flattens our understanding of distance. I became interested in the flattening of the experience, how time and space flattens so much.
Meditating on that, I was looking at the handrail, and I noticed that this stainless steel pole appears everywhere. In the bathroom with your bath towels hanging from this, bus handles in the bus, signage on a pole, or furniture, beds, lamps etc., it became this language of pulling all of these spaces together.
How has COVID-19 affected your work?
The restrictions of COVID-19 have made me even more aware of our movement. If you think about the handrail, it is designed for safety to support you, but the same stainless tube can also be used as a barricade or pole to control your movement; it serves a dual purpose. It helps but also restricts your movement.
It reminded me of this COVID situation, where we are restricting people's movement for their safety. Still, there's a massive dilemma as to how much control we are comfortable with, and that's something that I'm interested in exploring.
What advice would you give to aspiring artists/creatives?
I would say be patient.
When you're just emerging, you're quite impatient. For me, all I could see was the next project, the next year, but I’m coming to a realisation that it's a much longer game than that. When you look at other artists, it's about 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years, if you think like that you don't have to rush so much.
When not creating art, you can find me…?
When I do have free time, I like doing *laughs* nothing. I like just doing nothing. I really enjoy that!
What's next for you?
I'm currently working on this project for Auckland Art Gallery. I’ve been working with curator Natasha Conland, and she’s really helped push my imagination for my work. The space I’ve got in the Auckland Art Gallery is really unique, my work will span over five rooms. Before, the work was about working intuitively with space and time, but having five rooms helped expand my thinking. I view these rooms like a concerto, a movement in symphony, with each singular room that runs across will be connected. You have to walk through to experience the flow of the work, so that's something quite new.
I was meant to start a residency in the Netherlands and Paris but unfortunately with COVID it has been postponed until next year. It's currently all up in the air, so I'll see how things unfold. My current focus and priority is the Auckland Art gallery project, and when that's done, I'll see how things pan out, and I'll hopefully be able to travel early next year to take up the residencies.
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