Aimee Lee – Pelagic Inheritance | A basket is a reminder; Version 3
Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College’s 112th Annual Exhibition
Back to Front: Artists’ Books by Women
Aimee Lee, Pelagic inheritance, 2022, inkjet print and natural dyes on handmade papers, thread, paper thread, bark lace, woven paper, deconstructed paper dresses, 12 ¾ x 8 x ½ in. Courtesy of Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Cynthia Sears Collection
Aimee Lee, A basket is a reminder; Version 3, 2023, miniature book in basket; corded and twined Hanji, thread and inkjet on handmade paper, basket: 2 ½ x 3 x 2 in.; book: 1 ½ x 1 ⅝ x 1 in. Courtesy of Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Cynthia Sears Collection
“This book inside of a basket shares stories about the importance of baskets to early human development and culture. Baskets can so often be overlooked but the techniques of making them, the objects themselves, and their descendants have been a major part our lives.” ~ Aimee Lee
BIOGRAPHY
Aimee Lee is an artist, papermaker, writer, and the leading hanji researcher and practitioner in North America. Her Fulbright research on Korean paper led to her award-winning book Hanji Unfurled (The Legacy Press) and the first US hanji studio in Cleveland. Her artwork resides in collections that include the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Stanford University, UCLA, and Yale University. She has shown at the Fuller Craft Museum, Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking, Korean Cultural Service (NYC) and Korean Cultural Center (D.C.). Her work has appeared in The Aimee beats bast fiber by hand Korea Times, The New York Times, The Plain Dealer, KBS World Radio, PBS, VOA, and CNN’s Great Big Story.
Aimee has taught and lectured at the American Museum of Natural History, Asian Art Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, Denver Art Museum, Detroit Institute of Arts, Oberlin College, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Mills College, UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and Penland School of Crafts. Funders include the US Fulbright Program, Korea Fulbright Foundation, John Anson Ki redge Fund, American Folklore Society, and the Center for Craft. She creates and expands studios for Korean and East Asian papermaking, travels the world to share her artwork and expertise, and serves her region as an Ohio Arts Council Heritage Fellow.
ARTIST STATEMENT
When I studied papermaking history, I noticed a gap when it came to Korean paper—hanji—and decided to fill it. During my fieldwork in Korea I discovered more than paper. I learned to make, fuse, texture, cord, weave, and dye hanji. In the mountains, I harvested paper mulberry trees to extract their long fibers. These strands became luminous paper with a history of becoming objects for survival, ritual, and pleasure. I create contemporary versions, like a garment patched from scraps, a woven bird inspired by wedding ducks, or a commonplace book with multiple narrators, excavating my heritage to reveal forgo en stories.
The centuries-long lineage of art and hanji making continues through my hands, even as I adapt hanji techniques to the plants and resources of places where I live. When I learned to make my own paper from rags and plants, I felt liberated by the ability to control the nuances of my materials for books, costumes, and installations. Through Korean materials and techniques, I can root my artwork deeply while telling tales about a poet courtesan, painting the home and body with fabric, and floating between languages in an immigrant family. A myriad of personal stories resonate through fibers that still breathe as they record and preserve conversations in this thousand-year-old textile.