Seojung Lee says there are many of people who feel “in between.”
“You are loved, and you are so beautiful, and we need to be respectful to other people, and you have to understand and acknowledge that you are loved,” said Lee, a master of fine arts candidate at Colorado State University.
Lee’s message of self-love is at the heart of her newest exhibition, “I am What I am,” which tells the story of women of color and immigrants in the United States.
Lee immigrated to the United States from South Korea to pursue her undergraduate degree. After switching majors a few times, she found her love for art and creating.
Lee focuses on graphic art and uses her skills in printmaking to exemplify her message of uniqueness and change.
As a self-proclaimed womanist and feminist, Lee centers women – particularly women of color – in her work. Using stories of her own and stories from Black and Latina women, she created a piece that honored them.
The exhibit features a series of booklets with red stitching on the perimeter. Each booklet displays a different design, some with text and some with geographic shapes. Lee created the piece to be dynamic, explaining that it can be displayed in multiple ways.
The exhibition is located in Morgan Library on the second floor near room 203. It will run until March 2025. Lee used artist’s books and other materials housed at the Morgan Library to inspire her work, especially rare materials in the Friedman Feminist Press Collection. The form of each one told a different story of women.
As a graphic artist, printmaking and exploring physical materials at Morgan Library pushed Lee’s creativity and process. Lee’s exhibition is the first in a series showcasing how library resources can be used in a variety of ways for different research and passions. CSU Libraries cultivates collections that allow students to delve into topics on a deep and personal level, inspiring them to create, learn and grow.
Lee chose to honor her South Korean heritage by using hanji paper, paper made from paper mulberry, a tree native to Korea . She covered the paper in a solution and left it in a dark room for 24 hours. She then covered parts of the paper in a black design and exposed the rest to direct sunlight, causing the exposed paper to turn a dark blue color.
“I came here just as hanji paper, I came here as a Korean, with a pure Korean identity,” Lee said. “Then, my identity changed to in between Korean and Asian American.”
Lee compares her immigration story to the process of exposing the solution-soaked paper to the sunlight.
Above all things, Lee wants people to experience a sense of belonging and love from her art. Creating art that uplifts women of color and acts as a vehicle to tell their stories fuels Lee’s inspiration and passion for art and creating.
