TWENTY THREE COINCIDENCES lee ahnnlee

RUSSO YUBERO

Twenty Three Coincidences Lee Ahnnlee

Twenty Three Coincidences 23 coincidences is a little storybook, these stories that are told to children and where nice monsters, magic animals and talking trees chat together. From his daily observations, Lee Ahnnlee offers us stories, unexpected encounters and also tells us that the most improbable marriages are possible. Unlikely dialogues are thus established between a leaf and a butterfly, a bird and a rock. This invitation to look at the world differently is also a message for all of us. “Inanimate objects have you therefore a soul, which is attached to ours and compels us to love” wrote French poet Lamartine. Here is what is at stake here. The way we view and observe the inanimate and the mysterious universe of the living when it is not human. These dialogues are a reminder of the secret that surrounds the very idea of conscience and the feelings of those whom we have conveniently decided to call animals. Each of these mysterious encounters reminds us that behind the apparent stillness a second universe is undoubtedly hidden, which we have chosen to ignore. It could very well survive the organized and technological universe which transforms us today and rivets us to our screens in an ever deeper ignorance of reality. From his daily observation journey, each of us will draw their own stories and their own interpretations. Finally, at the end of the tales, emerges a dark small figure who alerts us, with his third eye, of the need to look also inside and not only on the surface of things. This dreamlike little being is everywhere, it can arise at any time, and its arrival in our consciousness is a warning. Let us keep in mind its physiognomy which is both funny and serious, its emergence is a return to the world of matter, beyond the pixels that now govern our daily lives. Helene Yubero & Francois Russo, January 2020

Lee Ahnnlee

Born in 1985, Korean artist Lee Ahnnlee studied art in Beaux-Arts National Academy in Paris and has been driven from the very beginning by the profound meaning of our daily life experiences. Inspired by the smallest events and sights that are offered to us on a daily basis, whether it is the lost wing of a butterfly on the edge of a window, a bird with a missing beak springing up from an awaken dream, or the growth of a flower, in his universe each of these small occurrences is embodying the entire universe. This is what gives a feeling of universality to each of his creations. In this diary like narrative, small and big works are cohabitating giving each a specific view of our common destiny. Then, through a mechanism of transmutation, the memory of what was becomes the vision of what will be. The accumulation of these little signs of destiny finally offers a global view of the world, and of our human condition, whether we are confined to a room, a neighborhood or a planet. This unique translation of the human condition has attracted the attention of collectors worldwide as well as of museums. In addition to solo exhibitions every year in reputed galleries in Seoul, his work has been featured in Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art and Seogbuk Creation Center. He has just been chosen by the reference Korean magazine ART IN CULTURE as one of the 111 power artists of the 2020 decade.

Rain Bird