Alexander Lee
The Departure of the Fish
November 4 - December 16, 2006
Installation view, The Departure of the Fish.
Kinkead Contemporary in collaboration with Scenic is proud to present The Departure of the Fish a major sculpture installation and a first solo exhibition by Alexander Lee.
Foreboding yet sublime, The Departure of the Fish alludes to an underwater sanctuary teeming with fish & coral, arms & legs Ð all cast in glistening black volcanic sand. Exploring the interplay between mythology and history, souvenir and relic, LeeÕs ambitious installation takes its title from a creation myth of his native Tahiti.
The legend tells of a volcanic island that was transformed into a fish, swam from the mythological place of Havai'i to the South Pacific and then became land again; hence its name, Tâ-hiti, which means "transplanted." For Lee this creation myth of island formation has combined with a more recent historical fact: the 1973 tragic crash of a Pan Am airliner thirty seconds after take-off from Papeete, whose victims were never found - save for the occasional limb pulled out of a shark's belly by a fisherman.
These stories left their mark on the artist, who spent his boyhood snorkeling off Tahiti's black sand beaches. The Departure of the Fish marks Lee's relationship to these images Ð and to all of our experiences of the gruesome contemporary spectacles of war and destruction. And yet, this is a beautiful and transformative installation. From death and decay, life springs in rebirth.
Working on-site at Kinkead Contemporary, Lee has cast dozens of body parts, fish, shells, and pieces of coral from a glittering amalgam of black sand and resin, creating artifacts that reference both the geological formation of Tahiti and the people who have crossed its shores: the tourists, the colonists, victims of disasters, and even Lee's own Chinese ancestry in the islands of French Polynesia. The feet cast in black sand also reference the expression "pied noir", or black foot Ð used to describe French citizens born in North African colonies.
Arrayed upon a stage of baby blue identical to Pan Am's trademark color Ð which has recurred throughout Lee's work - dismembered arms and legs with protruding coral growths mimic the aquatic environment of Tahiti's coral gardens. "It's sort of a mini biosphere," notes Lee. "You can see the ecology in the sculpture, and I think that's part of the salvation of it. It's a limb, but you can see the life cycle in it." The platform also recalls traditional Polynesian marae, a sacred place which served both religious and social purposes in ancient Polynesian societies.
The Departure of the Fish inhabits the "poetic gap" of the imagination Ð a magical space in which we can connect to history and humanity through something as simple as a shade of baby blue paint or a trail of black sand.
About the Organizer
Scenic is a New York-based arts advisory and curatorial agency founded by Simon Watson and Craig Hensala. With 35-years combined experience in the contemporary arts scene, Scenic has created more than 20 solo and group exhibitions over the past three years in association with clients such as Amnesty International, Bergdorf Goodman, Chanel, Coalition for the Homeless/ARTWALK NY, Susan & Michael Hort Collection, Kavi Gupta Gallery, LightBox, Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Perry Rubenstein Gallery, Planned Parenthood/LA, Roberts & Tilton, Rhona Hoffman Gallery and others.
Press
- Simon Watson. "New Artist: Alexander Lee", Whitewall, Summer 2007, pg. 62. Read the article (PDF 260KB)
