Lee Wen

Place: Singapore

Born: 1957

Death: 2019

Biography:

Lee Wen was a Singapore-based performance artist who played a pivotal role in shaping the development of performance art in Asia. Born in 1957, Lee's artistic journey began with an exploration of identity, ethnicity, freedom, and the individual's relationship to communities and the environment.

Early Life and Education

Lee studied at the Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts and later at the City of London Polytechnic. It was during this time that he discovered his true calling as a performance artist. He went on to develop the Yellow Man persona, which gained him recognition in the arts community.

Notable Works

One of Lee's most iconic works is his performance series titled The Journey of a Yellow Man, which started as a critique of racial and ethnic identities in 1992. This series has evolved into a meditation on freedom, humility, and religious practices over more than a decade. In this series, Lee painted his own body with bright yellow poster paint, expressing an exaggerated symbol of his ethnic identity as a citizen of Singapore. Some notable paintings from the Journey of a Yellow Man series include Journey of a Yellow Man No.5: Index to Freedom, which can be found at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan, and Journey of a Yellow Man No.11: Multi-Culturalism, which is part of the collection at the National Gallery Singapore.

Awards and Recognition

Lee's work has been recognized internationally, with performances and exhibitions in various locations such as the Gwangju Biennale and the Third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT3). He was also a key figure in the development of the Singapore Art Museum, which organized a mid-career retrospective titled Lucid Dreams in the Reverie of the Real in 2012.

Legacy

Lee's legacy extends beyond his own artistic practice. He was a pioneer in the development of performance art in Asia and played a significant role in shaping the region's contemporary art scene. His work continues to inspire artists and scholars, with his sketchbooks and notebooks being exhibited at the Asia Art Archive in 2019.

• For more information on Lee Wen's work, visit https://Wikioo.org/@/Lee-Wen.
• Read about the Singapore Art Museum and its collection at https://Wikioo.org/Art.nsf/All-Popular-Artists.
• Learn more about the history of Singapore at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore.

contributions to the world of performance art are immeasurable, and his legacy continues to inspire artists and scholars today. His pioneering work in exploring identity, ethnicity, freedom, and the individual's relationship to communities and the environment has left a lasting impact on the contemporary art scene.