West Den Haag

When working site-specific Lee doesn’t necessarily connect to the cultural context of the exhibition. In his work he often focuses on more universal elements. The work seems to breathe the atmosphere of the space it is surrounded by. Therefore these works are never the same when shown somewhere else. In a similar way the work absorbs the gaze of the viewer. When he discovered his own shadow in one of the projections during the building up of a show, he concluded that the closer you get to the work the more we see of ourselves. Lee’s work asks for the unhurried reader. As Johannes Vermeer did in his paintings, Lee dwells on subtle daily domestic moments for which there is no time or space in an efficient, capitalist society. His work resists the compulsion to accelerate, thus serving not as an expression of pure emotion, but rather as an attitude, one with even political significance.

Lee’s practise is greatly influenced by coincidence, allowing this external factor to determine steps along the process of building his exhibitions. This is a fundamental thought in Lee’s practise, to stay open towards coincidence and in this way to train our sensibilities. His work seems open, loose, even casual, but there can be found an incredible relationship between every choice and every color. At West, he will slowly and subtly shift our focus from the atmosphere in the many rooms, to his personal reflections, and finally back to ourselves.

A new (free) publication by Lee Kit entitled ‘50 ways of installing an exhibition (and random stories)’ will accompany the exhibition.

Lee Kit (1978, Hong Kong) has previously exhibited at i.a. Tate Modern, London; New Museum, New York and at the 55th Venice Biennale and has developed a new installation for West.