Hi, I’m Jiyoung Lee.
I am a mixed-media artist primarily working with textiles. By combining fabric, yarn, leather, and photography, I create works that exist somewhere between flat images and three-dimensional objects.
I confront the weight of cultural expectations and social judgment, asking what parts of ourselves we hide to keep others comfortable. Through the slow labor of craft, I navigate the space between who I am expected to be and who I want to become. Each piece is a step towards freedom creating for me a space where desire, difference, and self-recognition can exist openly.
The discipline of handcraft is not just a means to an end, but part of the work itself. I use these tactile processes as a form of sense-making, navigating the tensions between identity, expectation, and the desire to be whole.
My Practice
My creative process is an act of translation. I don't start by arranging fabric; I start with a question or a specific emotional tension, often rooted in the friction between obligation and desire. I take these abstract feelings and give them physical weight, translating inner conflict into a tangible, structured form.
Emotional Architecture
The concept always leads. Before I touch a single tool, I clarify the core emotion I want to express. Whether responding to a client brief or a personal impulse, I look for the overlap between the external story and my own lived experience. I don’t just illustrate a narrative; I identify the specific tension, such as the weight of judgment or the desire for freedom, and use that shared truth as the architectural foundation of the piece.
Material Memory
I treat my materials as a cast of characters chosen to survive the weight of observation. I rely on my own worn clothing. Denim and leather are important because these fabrics hold the 'memory' of the body best, they function as armor or evidence of endurance. I follow a rule of restraint, believing that scarcity breeds clarity. By limiting myself to materials that have already lived a life, I ensure the work stays grounded in reality.
Making as thinking
The discipline of handcraft is not just a means to an end, but the work itself. I use the slow labor of stitching and binding as a physical form of sense-making. I reject the "invisible seam" of traditional craft; joins and repairs are deliberately left exposed as records of choice. These punctures are not mistakes—they are proof of the effort required to reconcile who we are expected to be with who we are becoming.
Intimacy & Exposure
To balance the weight of the foundation which is typically leather or denim, I look for materials that disrupt the weight of the leather foundation. Layering transparent lace, photography, and thread to create a quiet counterpoint. This is where the digital meets the analog: I incorporate photography when a clear, documentarian view is needed. The handwork often interferes with it, adding texture and depth. This contrast is my vocabulary for "living visibly"—insisting that strength and softness, the hidden and the revealed, must exist in the same space.