Lee Bul

Strange exhibition at the Hayward Gallery looking at the career of Lee Bul, the South Korean artist.
 
I thought this work was thought provoking but not particularly beautiful. It’s not really stayed with me and I’ve just had to check my photos before writing to remind me of the work. I did think these strange sculptures and installations worked well in the newly refurbished Hayward Gallery and it was good that there was space for each of them to be viewed individually but also to be seen together to represent  the body of her work.
 
Without the leaflet I am not sure I would have understood the show so I’ll quote from it “Lee Bul’s work is concerned with the way that idealism or the pursuit of perfection – bodily, political or aesthetic – might lead to failure, or disaster.”
 
Each of the works felt like an experience. In the first room I liked Civitas Solis II, an large installation like a 3D map of an archipelago made of mirrors with light bulbs pulsating to give it life. The mirrors reflect the light onto the walls and extend the work beyond it’s immediate space. I also liked a great glittering chandelier. I am sure it had deeper meaning than being a rather pretty object but that passed me by.
 
My favourite piece was a morbid one of the ghostly body of the x-President of South Korea encased in Perspex ice.  It was an eerie work as you only noticed the body when you got close and looked down on it.   
 
Closed on 19 August 2018
 
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