About Me
My Work
I was born in Taiwan and lives and works in Toronto since 2017. Most of my works are painting and drawing. I'm interested in themes related to Chiness culture, social media, dream world and self experience. I'm fascinated by the Chinese building and landscape. I use oil paint, watercolor and acrylic medium which is more western medium to express the traditional chinese subject matter such as religion, Buddhism and Chinese ink landscapes. In my work, I seek to combine western culture and eastern especially chinese culture.
Also, I love to involve my energy in the process of making art in my finger painting. the process of making my artwork is important. The emotions of facing verbal attack expressed by the process of making the painting itself. Furthermore, some of my work expresses the idea of social media influence.
Recently, I am focusing on my memories of trips. Trips abroad to Asia, Canada, Cuba, and KeyWest are my inspiration and create experiences that form who I am. Drawing and layering tracing paper is my method to document memory and oblivion. Colorfulshapes and lines reflect different scenes in fragmented ways, holding onto experiencesthat shaped the self.
Biography
Yi-Jen Lee was born in Taiwan and immigrated to Montreal in 2008. She received a diploma from Creative Arts and Literature at LaSalle College in Montreal. She moved to Toronto since 2017. She becomes a Toronto-based artist and a recent graduate of OCAD University with a BFA in Drawing and Painting. Her works have been exhibited both in Toronto and Montreal at LaSalle College and OCAD University.
She is also an art tutor teach pencil sketch, acrylic and help student prepare their portfolio.
Her father, Raymond Lee, is a PEI artist and he had a great influence on her from a very young age.
Artist Statement
During the pandemic, I tend to look back to the past and hold onto the experiences that will shape myself and the future. This process of haunting memories helps me to be more appreciative of the present and gives me the courage to carry forward into the future. By looking at the past, trips to Asia, Canada, Cuba, and Key West are my inspirations in creating moments that form who I am.
These memories allow me to create an inner fantasy world through drawing on tracing paper, painting on canvas, and doing traditional Chinese painting on rice paper. First, I use contour lines of different scenes created with ink on the tracing paper. Layering these drawings is my process to document and rescue these moments from oblivion, but then I start to accept oblivion is part of the beauty of memory and it makes the past more precious. This layering simulates how memory works in my mind, some details are clear, and some fuzzy. Transferring these drawings onto the canvas with colorful shapes and lines, depict disparate scenes and a range of my emotions.
For the traditional Chinese paintings, I drop the ink into the water and dip the rice paper to create unpredictable ink marks, simulating how the pandemic suddenly happened. Before I put my brush onto the paper, I begin my ritual. Circling the ink stick on the inkstone creates a sound that helps me to calm down. With my eyes closed and the ink mark flying in my mind, I can bring myself into an imaginary place with some flashbacks of the places I travel before. Freely expression of ink on rice paper along with Chinese poetry creates a spiritual place that allows me to pursue inner peace. By representing an imaginary world and combining eastern and western scenes I express my yearning to belong two both identities and not in between!
CV
Education
- OCAD U- Faculty of Art
Drawing and PaintingMajor Completed, 2021
- LaSalle College
Creative Arts, LiteratureMajor Completed, 2015
Skills
- Over 15 years’ experience in drawing and painting
- Proficient in digital design, Illustrator,Photoshop
- Traditional Chinese, painting, watercolor, acrylic, oil paint, calligraphy, charcoal, and sketching with pencil
- Fluent in Chinese and English and moderate French
Exhibition
- 2021, OCAD U GradEx 106
OCAD University
Link: https://eportfolio.ocadu.ca/profile/details/c03e5143-00eb-46d5-a234-ce2201d274e2
- 2021, OCAD U GradEx 106: DRPT Student Exhibitions
Link: https://artspaces.kunstmatrix.com/en/exhibition/5819423/yi-jen-lee
- 2021, 2020-2021 OCAD U DRPT Thesis Works in Progress
OCAD University
- 2018, OCAD U First Year Exhibition
OCAD University
- 2015, Selected exhibition
LaSalle College
Career
-2018-present
Art Tutor: Teach pencil sketch, acrylic and help student to prepare their protfolio.