My work investigates the notion of desire and examines the subversive nature
of certain desires. As an artist, I seek to create images that often signify
more than what obviously is present in the subject matter. The art serves
on some levels as a reflection of myself. It also approaches issues that
society recognizes as deviant or immoral. I see myself as a person who straddles
two extreme situations. I stand between my country and the United States,
between masculinity and femininity, between being outrageous and being timid,
between being a painter and being a sculptor. By standing in the middle
of two opposite poles, I can envision either extreme and express both sides.
The conceptual nature of my work is about subversive desires and the
physical substance of my work is found in the faces of the people I have
chosen to represent. The people that I sculpt are members of society who
are on many levels concealed and expressed by it. My art illustrates people
who express gender ambiguity. These people include those of androgynous
beauty and those who struggle with gender identity, often becoming drag
queens. Dealing with a subject like gender identity is difficult. This is
partly because of the fact that in many parts of the world people who struggle
with their gender identity are considered perverts.
My work is subversive because it represents ideas that go against the
grain of appropriate behaviors and illustrates "unorthodox" human
desires. I attempt to conceal the subversive elements in my work. The "perverse" and "unacceptable" qualities
of the work are hidden so that some might approach the work and giggle
and others might see it and understand the deeper meaning. The hope is that
the work will become more empowered if the issue, subversive desire,
is hidden.
- Harin Lee, 2006