Myoung Ho Lee is a Korean photographer and environmental activist well known for his ‘Tree Series’ as part of the 'Art-Act Project' since 2004, where he builds and installs a canvas in the background of a tree to signify what has once been neglected.
This project aims to awaken the essence of art by re-presenting a part of nature.
The ‘Tree Series’ presents the complete figure of the tree as a metaphor of ‘re-presence’ by installing a white canvas in the back of the tree. After selecting a tree for its distinctive form and its distance from other landmarks, Myoung Ho Lee sets up a temporary photography studio on-site with the help of a large production crew and heavy cranes. His "portraits" draw inspiration from both traditional painting practices and the history and techniques of photography.
Using a large-format camera, Lee centers each tree and its accompanying canvas in the image, allowing the surrounding environment to fill the rest of the frame. The canvas frames the tree, isolating it from its surroundings while incorporating the backdrop as part of the subject. Lee's work features various species of trees captured in different seasons and times of day. Once the photograph is taken, minor elements like ropes, poles, or assistants' hands are digitally retouched, but small tears, folds in the canvas, and shadows of the helpers remain, highlighting the performative and installation aspects of Lee's photographs.
The ‘Mirage Series’ produces an oasis or sea-like mirage far-off in the desert as a metaphor of “re-produce” by installing a white canvas on the surface of the desert. As the title “Art-Act Project” implies, Myoung Ho Lee values the work accumulated during the process as a trace of his actions rather than valuing just the final piece of the work.
His works have been collected by many museums such as Jean-Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, USA), Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts (Kiyosato, Japan), National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne, Australia), Fotografie Museum Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Bibliotheque Nationale de France (Paris, France), Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Salta (Salta, Argentina), National Museum of Contemporary Art Korea (Seoul, Korea), Seoul Museum of Art (Seoul, Korea), Daegu Art Museum (Daegu, Korea), and so on.
Myoung Ho Lee earned his B.F.A and M.F.A from the Department of Photography at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, Korea. He is a professor of the Photography Department at Kyung-Il University in Daegu, Korea.
