Lee Wen
Encyclopedia
Lee Wen is a Singapore
an performance artist on social identity themes, and best known for his Yellow Man performances. Painting his own body with bright yellow poster paint, he expresses an exaggerated symbol of his ethnic identity as a citizen of Singapore. He is also a member of The Artists Village
(TAV), and part of the Black Market performance collective.
In 1988 Lee Wen left behind a banking career to enrol at the Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts
at the age of 30. He expressed himself with both painting and various non-traditional media, having influenced by performance artist Tang Da Wu
and other experimental artists Amanda Heng and Vincent Leow from The Artists Village
. In 1990, Lee went on to study at the City of London Polytechnic, and it was then that Lee had found his true calling as a performance artist. He went on to develop the Yellow Man persona which gained him his first recognition in the arts community. This progressed to the Journey of a Yellow Man series of works involving mixed-media, installation, performances and paintings. Lee Wen's work quickly gained international recognition since 1993, having performed and showcasing his artistic expressions in many international locations such as the Kwang Ju Biennale, at the 3rd Asia Pacific Triennial in Australia in 1999.
In 2003, Lee spearheaded the Future of Imagination international performance art event at The Substation, and at the Sculpture Square in 2004 with foreign performance artists such as Alastair MacLennan from Northern Ireland
, Finnish artist Irma Optimist and Marilyn Arsem from USA. Lee saw the value of having an annual gathering of international artists here in Singapore, to share a continuing interest in the cultural constructs of identity in the global situation and current trends of contemporary art practice, through live performances and discussion forms.
Lee also taught art at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
and at his alma-mater back home in Singapore. He had also taught workshops at Hanoi University of Fine Arts, University of Ulster, UK, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico City, and Musashino Art University, Tokyo. On 21 October 2005, Lee Wen was presented with the highest cultural award, the Cultural Medallion
for his immense contributions to the development of local contemporary art
.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an performance artist on social identity themes, and best known for his Yellow Man performances. Painting his own body with bright yellow poster paint, he expresses an exaggerated symbol of his ethnic identity as a citizen of Singapore. He is also a member of The Artists Village
The Artists Village
The Artists Village is a contemporary art group in Singapore. Founded by contemporary artist Tang Da Wu, it enabled like-minded contemporary artists to critically re-look and examine existing assumptions, values and concepts of art-making in Singapore...
(TAV), and part of the Black Market performance collective.
In 1988 Lee Wen left behind a banking career to enrol at the Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts
LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts
The LASALLE College of the Arts , formerly LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, is an arts educational institution in Singapore. It was founded in 1984 by De La Salle brother, Brother Joseph McNally. Currently, LASALLE has design, fine arts, integrated arts, media arts and performing arts faculties...
at the age of 30. He expressed himself with both painting and various non-traditional media, having influenced by performance artist Tang Da Wu
Tang Da Wu
Tang Da Wu is a Singaporean artist who works in a variety of media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, installation art and performance art. Educated at Birmingham Polytechnic and Goldsmiths' College, University of London, Tang gave his first solo exhibition, consisting of drawings and...
and other experimental artists Amanda Heng and Vincent Leow from The Artists Village
The Artists Village
The Artists Village is a contemporary art group in Singapore. Founded by contemporary artist Tang Da Wu, it enabled like-minded contemporary artists to critically re-look and examine existing assumptions, values and concepts of art-making in Singapore...
. In 1990, Lee went on to study at the City of London Polytechnic, and it was then that Lee had found his true calling as a performance artist. He went on to develop the Yellow Man persona which gained him his first recognition in the arts community. This progressed to the Journey of a Yellow Man series of works involving mixed-media, installation, performances and paintings. Lee Wen's work quickly gained international recognition since 1993, having performed and showcasing his artistic expressions in many international locations such as the Kwang Ju Biennale, at the 3rd Asia Pacific Triennial in Australia in 1999.
In 2003, Lee spearheaded the Future of Imagination international performance art event at The Substation, and at the Sculpture Square in 2004 with foreign performance artists such as Alastair MacLennan from Northern Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Finnish artist Irma Optimist and Marilyn Arsem from USA. Lee saw the value of having an annual gathering of international artists here in Singapore, to share a continuing interest in the cultural constructs of identity in the global situation and current trends of contemporary art practice, through live performances and discussion forms.
Lee also taught art at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
or is one of the oldest and most prestigious art schools in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju, Adachi, Tokyo...
and at his alma-mater back home in Singapore. He had also taught workshops at Hanoi University of Fine Arts, University of Ulster, UK, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico City, and Musashino Art University, Tokyo. On 21 October 2005, Lee Wen was presented with the highest cultural award, the Cultural Medallion
Cultural Medallion
The Cultural Medallion is a Singapore cultural award conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in dance, theatre, literature, music, photography, art and film....
for his immense contributions to the development of local contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
.
Solo exhibitions
| Dates | Title | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Journey of a yellow man no.3: DESIRE | The Substation The Substation The Substation is Singapore's first and only independent contemporary arts centre. It was founded in 1990 by Kuo Pao Kun.The Substation is centrally located in the city's civic district. Venues at The Substation for hire include a black-box theatre, a gallery, a dance studio, the Random Room and... Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... |
| 1995 | Neo-Baba | VA-nishiogi Gallery Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... , Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
| 1996 | Hand-Made Tales | The Black Box, Theatreworks TheatreWorks TheatreWorks may refer to:*TheatreWorks *TheatreWorks *TheatreWorks *Theatreworks *Theatreworks *Theatreworks USA*TheaterWorks... Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... |
| 2002 | Everybody Should Be Happy | Utterly Art Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... |
| 2003 | Stramge Fruit | The Substation The Substation The Substation is Singapore's first and only independent contemporary arts centre. It was founded in 1990 by Kuo Pao Kun.The Substation is centrally located in the city's civic district. Venues at The Substation for hire include a black-box theatre, a gallery, a dance studio, the Random Room and... Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... |
| 2004 | Unframed 7 | P-10 Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... |
| 11 September – 9 October 2007 |
Freedom of Daydreams, Mothers of Imagination | Your MOTHER gallery Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... |
| 10 September - 27 September 2008 |
Anthropometry Revision | Soo Bin Art Gallery Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... |
Further reading
- Chin Hock Seng (1981), ‘Pop dog’ artist shares a dream, The Straits Times, Singapore. 9 May 1981
- Lee Wen (1981) A Waking Dream - drawings and poetry, Singapore : Select Books
- Ng Sek Chow, Yellow reflections, The Straits Times, Singapore, 23 July 1993
- Chandrasekaran.S., Langenbach, R. & Lee Wen (1993), Local Performance Art, Democracy: Commentary. Journal of the National University of Singapore Society, Singapore, National University of Singapore Society (Vol.11 No. 2)
- Swinson, James, Lee Wen Connection / Location, Third Text/ no.45 Winter, London 1998-99 - pp. 95–97
- Lee Weng Choy, Artist essay on Lee Wen, The Third AsiaPacificTriennale 1999 Catalogue, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane Australia.
- Lee Weng Choy, (2000), Just What Is it that Makes the Term Global-Local So Widely Cited, Yet So Annoying?, "Flight Patterns: picturing the Pacific Rim" catalogue, Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (A shorter version of this essay was first published in Artlink, Volume 20 Number 2, June 2000.)
- Woon Tien Wei, Between Journeys: an Interview with Lee Wen, Performance Research 6(l), pp. 3 7 © Taylor & Francis Ltd 2001
- Barragan, Paco, The Art To Come, Subastas Siglo XXI, Madrid 2002
- Oon, Clarissa, Hello, yellow fellow, The Straits Times, Singapore, 21 October 2003
- Glenis Israel, Senior Artwise 2 visual arts 11-12, Part 3 Asian Artists – contemporary, Chapter 14, John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Sydney 2004
- HO Tzu Nyen, “strange fruit”, Art Asia Pacific / Spring 2004 No.40