Carol Lee Mei-kuen was born in Hong Kong, where she continues to live and work. Between 1983 and 1999, she studied Chinese painting with a master. She then graduated from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University/Hong Kong Art School in 2001,awarded a master degree in 2007.
Interview Excerpt :
-Your works usually involves natural elements such as sunlight and time, which introduce a space for uncertainties. How do you treat these uncertainties happened in your pieces?
- In this exhibition, it is really important to understand the relationship between time and the materials I use in my works. All of my works are formed through time, but that does not mean that my works become fixed, or stationary, when they are completed. They continue to transform over time and to record the time as they do so. For me, uncertainties are very important. I like to explore the uncertainties in my works. Life is similarly full of uncertain things.
- When drawing or painting, artists often emotionally invest in their works over a period of time. How do you put your emotions into such a creative process?
- When drawing or painting, you need to engross yourself in the work from the moment you start. But the creation of my works, also consumes physical energy. I always need to move them from one place to another. So my personal emotional experience may not be engaged over a specific session. I always say that this is like the Chinese fruit peel; it takes a long time to dry them properly and requires much patience. My methodology differs from conventional painting, because my life is integrated with the entire process.
-The Postcard Project is an interactive installation. How do you anticipate audiences to communicate with it?
-Writing postcards is a way of recording things. When I look through the postcards I have which have already been written and sent, they feel like historical records. Some of them mention the Wenzhou train accident, the Japan Earthquake of 2011 and the earthquake that happened in Nepal. It was not my intention to create a political reference to the project, but this emerges from the way these postcards represent the relationship among people, friendships, greetings from others, but also loss and anxieties. They are a record. The audience sees the diverse pretty images, which may impress them. I hope they can sit in this quiet space and write a postcard to people who they miss and love. This is the best means by which the project records the relationships among different people. I hope that visitors who participate will post photos of the postcards on my website. Seeing this process allows more people to know how relationships develop in our society. We have many means of communication at our fingertips today, and they are convenient and efficient. But I doubt whether these means are always good for us. Of course, we need to be able to respond quickly sometimes, but we should not neglect more beautiful means of communicating.
