Kaohsiung, Sea in a Bottle
Seungyoun LEE Residency Exhibition 
　　　
　　
▍Exhibition Text Scroll down for English.
　　
This exhibition is a record of my fantasy that has been fell in Kaohsiung for three months. During my stay in Kaohsiung, I seemed to be floating in the middle of the sea. The area around Residency, which was famous as a tourist destination, gradually people's footsteps have reduced. Because of the virus. The artists that were living together returned to their countries one by one, and no one came anymore. I was alone in the residency. I spent most of my time at some of my favorite restaurants, bubble tea shops, and studio. I seemed to be trapped in a glass bottle floating in the sea. For me, Kaohsiung was like the sea in a glass bottle.
　　
One day I went to Liuqui sea island, known as 'turtle island'. When I first snorkeled for the first time in my life, the turtle I met in the sea felt like an alien. My whole body was thrilled and trembling. The first time my heart started beating in Taiwan. Even after returning to Kaohsiung, the scenes of the enchanting and frightening scene I saw in the underwater world never left my mind. It seemed to have a dream that never wakes up in the middle of the day. I mixed the world of the sea with the fantasy I saw in my midday dream and draw on yellow paper, “joss paper,” in red and gold. Joss Paper is the yellow paper money that the Taiwanese send to God. In a glass bottle world, I fly on a turtle in the vast Pacific Ocean. I see a silver-colored fish standing on his back and swimming, see a Mazu wearing a mask and a coral crown. Say hello to the little boy blowing a trumpet on the giant coral reef surrounded by snakes, and meet a spaceman swimming with a turtle.
　　
In this exhibition, you can see several acrylic sculptures along with Joss paper. Acrylic sculptures are what I imagined in the 21st century Maju. The Mazu I met on Cijin Island was not the mysterious Mazu I had imagined. Taiwan's most popular god, Mazu, was like a warm-hearted aunt. she reminded me of our ordinary people. I portrayed the people I met In Kaohsiung, as a special god with a halo. They also felt like Kaohsiung's Mazu to me. Just as Mazu is wearing a gorgeous crown decorated with gold, my Mazu is also with gold leaf on their body. As Taiwan submerged in the sea a long time ago, my Mazu also stand on the salt that has covered the sea.
　　
I had a big fantasy in Kaohsiung, which I thought was inside a small glass bottle. It's a vast Pacific Ocean world I didn't know. The world in a glass bottle is small, but not small.