Lee, Eva

A digital archive of Asian/Asian American contemporary art history

Other Names: 李碧蓮

Female

"Eva Lee is a visual artist and experimental filmmaker, born and raised in New York City. Trained as a painter (MFA, Hunter College, 2000) she is inspired by what lies at the threshold of perception. 'I wonder about the unseen, the impalpable, the barely conceivable. The jostling of subatomic particles, the spaces between cells, what mind is, how we understand phenomena, these are the type of things that fascinate me.' The New York Times described her early animations as 'hypnotic' depictions of the 'awesome infinities and minutiae of the cosmos.'

Her interest in the nature of mind has led her to study Buddhist philosophy, and to follow new developments in neuroscience of the brain. She has collaborated with University of Virginia neuroscientist Dr. James Coan to visualize his data on the brain basis of emotions as moving 3D landscapes, making inner subjective states visible as external topography. With Yale University Haskins Laboratories Dr. Einar Mencl, she created an animated visual poem based on his brain imaging from language and sound-related experiments."

Eva Lee, Artist Biography, 2015

"I am indebted to Dr. Seuss for having written his children's story 'Horton Hears a Who,' which first gave me the idea as a young girl that worlds may exist though we cannot perceive them. What a concept! Reality may not be what it seems. This cracked open my imagination.

As an artist, I am inspired by what lies at the threshold of perception. I wonder about the unseen, the impalpable, the barely conceivable. The jostling of subatomic particles, the spaces between cells, what mind is, how we understand phenomena, these are some of the things that fascinate me. Science, as a way of knowing, is never far from my thoughts when I work.

Lately, delving into Buddhist philosophy has been surprising for its views on the nature of mind and phenomena. Whereas Dr. Seuss’ message was that worlds may exist even if we don’t perceive them, Buddhist philosophy introduced me to its inverse--that worlds may not exist even if we perceive them!"

Eva Lee, Artist Statement, 2015