Dongwook Lee’s Real Barbie World
Words by Gerard McGuickin
Location
Dongwook Lee is a South Korean photographer living in Seoul. His body of work which could be described as ethereal, expressive and reflective, invites the observer to contemplate the nature of human existence, curiosity, physicality and morality. Lee who approaches his photography with the idea that ''to see'' means using all of one’s senses and memories, means that his photos may very well have different meanings for every viewer, dependent upon past experiences, the subconscious and the limits of perception.
AM Dusk-Inside, 2009, photo © Dongwook Lee.
Like A Virgin, 2010, photo © Dongwook Lee.
One such collection by Dongwook Lee titled ''Sense of Guilt'' (also known as ''Fake Tale'') presents a real world, albeit inhabited by Barbie dolls. Although the settings are familiar and commonplace, the reality is distorted precisely because the dolls are both so human-like and inanimate. Through the carefully executed scenes that he creates, they are almost like fleeting moments where the onlooker acts as a voyeur and spectator.
Barbie has been the subject of much controversy since the doll was first launched by American toy manufacturing company Mattel in 1959. To all intents and purposes, Barbie is the all-American girl and her boyfriend, Ken (introduced later on in 1961), the all-American boy. With the many entrenched stereotypes and assumptions that have been attached to good-looking, fashionable Barbie and Ken - for example, their integrity, sexual naivety and heteronormativity - challenging, testing and playing with these various suppositions is a very interesting exercise indeed.
Here To Stay, 2009, photo © Dongwook Lee.
Nude-Barbie, photo © Dongwook Lee.
A Decisive Moment, 2005, photo © Dongwook Lee.
Lie Down, 2009, photo © Dongwook Lee.
SMILE, 2007, photo © Dongwook Lee.
When it comes to Barbie dolls, it’s most probable that we all have a particular way of thinking about them. In his work, Dongwook Lee’s manipulation of the dolls cleverly exposes prejudices and preconceptions, causing us to question them in relation to the use of a cultural and pop icon in scenes typically unknown to Barbie dolls. Lee suggests that in some circumstances, the Barbie dolls play the role of a ''MacGuffin'', where they act merely as a trigger for the unfolding scenario: ''I wanted viewers to give full scope to their imagination and sub consciousness, relying on their perception and experience,'' Lee observes. In other words, the doll motivates our thinking in the context of its surroundings. Examples of the ''MacGuffin'' can be seen in the works titled Lost, Bad Day and AM Dusk-Inside amongst others.
Dongwook Lee describes his work as verging on painting and photography. He notes that photo images provide backgrounds to which ''artistic composition and symbolism are added.'' ''Sense of Guilt'' or ''Fake Tale'' takes the viewer on a journey through a series of scenes that are transient, familiar, symbolic, mortal and sham. In essence, they are Lee’s impression of a particular Barbie-like world, imagined by him to then be untangled by the onlooker viewing them.
Works from Fake Tale are available to buy on Saatchi Art.
{YatzerTip}: Barbie recently inspired an entire Milan Fashion Week show. Check out the SS15 womenswear collection by Jeremy Scott for Moschino.
AM Dusk-Hurt, photo © Dongwook Lee.
Ooops, photo © Dongwook Lee.