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Carol Lee Mei-kuen’s latest artworks reveal an ephemeral beauty

There is something fleeting and fragile on show in Lee’s Hong Kong exhibition of works created by ageing paper with sunlight and air

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Carol Lee’s Wonderful 1960s. Photo: courtesy of Carol Lee Mei-kuen
Cristina Sanchez-Kozyreva

Carol Lee Mei-kuen’s latest series of works in “Remembering Days, Forgetting Time”, on show at 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, continues her exploration into the ephemeral.

By exposing paper to direct sunlight and air over a long period of time, the artist uses the oxidation process to create prints with colour gradients (golden brown and yellow) that are meticulously detailed.

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The exhibition comprises three different series: circular floral drawings, postcards, and collages – all employing the same “natural” technique that Lee has been experimenting with for more than a decade.

With the use of stencils, Lee created impressively clear flower motifs in her series Origin (1 to 17, 2014 and 2015). Round like halos, these drawings reference the origins of humanity. The artist placed dried plants and insects atop the surface to look like fossils imprinted on paper. This series is both scientific and poetic in tone.

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Origin 2 2014-2015. Photo: courtesy of Carol Lee Mei-kuen
Origin 2 2014-2015. Photo: courtesy of Carol Lee Mei-kuen
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