Lee Ju-Lyn

Lee Ju-Lyn (李裕鈴) is preoccupied with existentialist concerns, like identity, meaning (and lack of), and connections between art and life, but her approach is probably more absurdist. She is inclined towards hybrid and pluralist paradigms and accordingly, her works take on diverse forms, ranging from writings, to paintings, installations, and publications. Her research focus is in Chinese ink art, of which the conceptual and philosophical considerations are typically relevant to hers.

Ju-Lyn had left the public service to study calligraphy, ink painting, and seal carving, from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. She also completed a Masters of Arts in Museum Studies and Curatorial Practices from the Nanyang Technological University. Prior to these, Ju-Lyn read Psychology at the National University of Singapore. 

Please visit meekfreak.com for more information.

Title

“一个女生为什么要练到这么晚才回家?”
(“Why does a girl have to train till so late?”)

Medium

Installation using mix materials, including readymades and chinese ink and paper.

Year
2021

---

Artist Statement

I conceived this installation as a response to Lynn Wong’s writing. Prompted by Wong’s writing about her experience learning martial arts as a female practitioner, I reflect upon my endeavours, since I too, often and continue to undertake artistic training or practice until late at night, and am frequently asked why, by my mother, others, and most of all, myself. 

This is a representation of my studio, featuring a piece of calligraphy practice of a poem, 《琵琶行》(Song of the Pipa) by 白居易 (Bai Juyi) of Tang Dynasty. The poem is about a sought-after Pipa player who moved from the capital to a more remote region after marrying a trader who was often away on business, and thus, she lived lonelily. Through the life story of the Pipa player, who must have trained hard for her art as well, I think about the multitudinous social expectations and obligations of women, our aspirations, and how complicated choices and consequent implications can get.

The poem includes a famous line, “同是天涯沦落人，相逢何必曾相识”, meaning, “Both of us, vagrants in the universe, meeting now, need we have known each other before?” This line appropriately describes the circumstances under which the work was conceived, as I had not met the writer personally (yet), but could empathise in many ways.

---

Writer

Lynn Wong Yuqing

Memoir: My Second Home