During the seven weeks of ‘Entangled’ we’ll focus on individual artists here on our blog. ‘some things looming’ is pleased to introduce: Lily Martin Lee
Net Study 3
My work aims to depict an alternative construct of the American West, exposing an honest contemporary portrait stripped of idealization and steeped with idiosyncrasies and paradoxical realities. Employing labor-intensive processes from weaving to metal fabrication, I make work that concerns subjects ranging from crime and gambling to vehicles and labor industries.
In each body of work I approach my subject matter by researching legal documents. From most wanted postings to standard specifications, the dry language leads me to contemplative curiosity and emotional introspection. At the crux my practice lays my fascination with the paradox in which the overly specific becomes absurd.
I avoid materials that I consider to be wholesome but rather work with media carrying a more contested identity: things that are cosmetic, decorative, cheap, and vulgar, materials that necessitate an assertion of their relevance such as synthetic fibers, glass beads and automotive accessories. Similarly, I look beyond the pure natural beauty of the American West to a thematic space in which topics such as litter laws, fugitives and bikini baristas are considered. Through my work I assert the relevance of the ignoble, idiosyncratic, and unconventional bricoulage that makes up contemporary life in the American West to suggest that these realities are every bit as critical and endearing a part of the region’s history, development, and identity today as the vast natural wonders that have so long symbolized the West.
Net Study 3, detail