Lee Lee , “War I”, Mixed Media on Paper, 2008.
Combat Medic’s Mom
“I join with my sisters in every land in the Pax Materna - a permanent declaration of peace that transcends our ideological differences. In the nuclear shadow, war is obsolete. I will no longer suffer in silence nor sustain it by complicity. They shall not send my son to fight another mother's son. For now, forever, there is no mother who is enemy to another mother.”
Ritual – India
India is a land of extremes. In the ancient city of Varanasi, Hindus make pilgrimages to perform a myriad of ceremonies in and along the great river Ganga. There are many cremations there, as Hindis believe that if one’s life ends in this most sacred city, in their next life they will return a step higher in the caste system. These two works convey life in the early morning as worshippers begin their daily rituals while remnants of the previous days offerings are washed ashore.
Confined Shrines – Myanmar
One of the most repressive regimes in the world today, people in Myanmar have an extremely difficult life, with little opportunity for self expression. At the same time, they are some of the most profoundly spiritual people I've met in their manifestation of Theravada Buddhism. As I traveled through the country, I found they kept most of their shrines locked within steel cages. It offered a very poignant reflection of life there today. These works incorporate photographic images of the steel cages transferred atop of watercolor drawings of the shrines.
Torched Angels – Cuba
The opposition between the process of using fire to the iconic images of Angels reflects struggle and perseverance. While in Cuba, I photographed Angels that grace the graveyard in Havana, later appropriating the images to collages made with a blowtorch. While I feel themes of struggle and perseverance are universal, I felt it especially strong among the prideful Cuban people. In a place where it is nearly impossible to maintain a balanced diet because of lack of food, Cubans have a strong will to maintain their identity and not sell out to an imposing global culture.
