In order to find the invisible time, it is necessary to think about it by first defining time. For me, time is a moment that passes by quickly. It is born from the relationship between my body and the ground on which I stand, so the body is the base with which I recognize and see time. The five senses that we use are the most important tools for understanding time, and the experiences of the five senses relate not only to the time that passes by naturally but also to the space and place in which time flows.

　The motif of my work is construction site sceneries, which I have been interested in for many years. Construction sites are a very familiar sight seen in any country today, but for me, construction sites are not only a phenomenon in which buildings are erected, but they also remind me of the history of the land and my memories that start disappearing as soon as curtains and temporary enclosures are erected. Things that existed disappear because of the construction, but when we look at them from a different angle, the scenery we see is the accumulation of memories that people left behind. When I look at things from that perspective, I realize that everything has layers, and I try to find layers hidden in the depths of the scenery I am looking at by creating the work from what I have gathered from my surroundings.

　I started making works based on this theme out of paper, and I realized that paper also has layers. Paper is usually seen as two-dimensional, but when you make it, you can see that paper is three-dimensional and thick with many layers stacked between the surfaces due to the process of making the fibers multiple times. I am fascinated by things beyond that single sheet of paper that can be seen as slightly transparent, or the things that cannot be seen at all, and continue to create works while imagining them.

- LEE Hyelim

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2024.02