
He lives and works
in Nowhere in Somewhere
in Nowhere in Somewhere
I as an artist and creative director have devoted to exploring the nebulous intersections of art, technology, and human consciousness. My artistic endeavors aim to trigger sensory and transcendental experiences, deliberately blurring the boundaries between the natural and human-engineered realities. This in turn compels viewers to embark on introspective journeys into the depths of their own minds.
One particular phenomenon that has left a profound imprint on my work is synaesthesia. Its unique ability to surpass the confines of language and conventional communication has been a significant source of inspiration. My practice seeks to heighten perceptual awareness and cognitive understanding, morphing spatial and temporal dimensions through visual and auditory cues. Given the fact that our individual realities are sculpted by personal history, cultural lineage, and singular narratives of society, my autoethnographic work harmoniously interweaves anthropological research and personal introspection. This intermingling allows me to continually delve into my own experiences in the various liminal spaces have on influenced my artistic expressions.
As a native of Korea, a country shaped by the swift currents of globalisation, my worldview has expanded from the few decades spent living as a digital nomad in Japan and the UK. Consequently, my artistic journey has been a quest to expand the perceptual boundaries of my physical self.
I consider myself akin to a spatial gardener; I interpret, cultivate and harvest the conditions of space in order to create experiences that vibrate with poetic and intellectual resonance. My media installations beckon viewers to venture beyond their familiar sensory boundaries, fostering dialogue about art's instrumental role in molding our perception of the world. Driven by a passion to strengthen our bonds with the spaces we occupy, I challenge spectators to reassess their self-perceptions and their association with technology, advocating for a worldview that embraces ecological integration.
As we chart a complex future brimming with emerging technologies like AI and VR, it is my aspiration that my practice instills introspection, transformation, and transcendence. I hope this encourages a deeper understanding and a more mindful response to the complex ecological terrains we find ourselves within.
Bio
Dr. Jinjoon Lee FRSA (이진준 born in Masan, South Korea) is a professor, sculptor, new media artist and creative director exploring the liminoid experience of utopian space ideologies with new technologies.
After graduating from the Business School of Seoul National University in 2001, he got BFA(2005) and MFA(2009) of Sculpture in the SNU. Then, he went on to pursue a master degree(2017) of Moving Image and Design Interaction at the Royal College of Art in London, and the doctorate of philosophy in the Ruskin School of Fine Art, University of Oxford. His doctoral thesis was titled Empty Garden: A Liminoid Journey to Nowhere in Somewhere (2020), which manifested as a 10-meter-long scroll intermixing East Asian Garden aesthetics with existentialism, poetry, and autoethnographic research, offering a new theoretical perspective on liminal spaces.
Since giving his debut solo exhibition at ARKO Art Centre of Arts Council Korea in 2007, Lee has exhibited at numerous venues worldwide including Seoul Metropolitan Museum, Korea National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, India International Centre, The Prague National Gallery in the Czech Republic, The National Museum of Bulgaria, Royal College of Art and Royal College of Music in London. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and a full-fledged member of the Royal Society of Sculptors (MRSS). Lee’s studio is perhaps best known for the public media sculpture They, which was permanently installed at Digital Media City, Seoul in 2010, and works on the architectural design and development of innovative projects for various requests around the world.
Having previously taught at the University of Oxford, he was appointed a professor at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) and researches on Data-driven Art and Design, Sound Art and XR Performance for Future Opera with new technologies like VR and AI at his TX lab. Lee has served as an invited guest artist at the ZKM Center for Art and Media and is currently an assistant professor at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology).
For an up-to-date CV and more information, please e-mail.