Installation view of 《SUPERNATURAL》 (OCI Museum of Art, 2023) ©OCI Museum of Art

OCI Museum of Art (Director: Jihyun Lee) presents Jeongkeun Lee’s solo exhibition 《SUPERNATURAL》, selected as part of the 2023 OCI YOUNG CREATIVES program supporting emerging artists, from August 10 to September 9 in the museum’s first-floor gallery.

Jeongkeun Lee has long created photographic works imbued with deep contemplation and sincerity. Photography is often described as eternity captured in a fleeting moment, yet audiences tend to spend only fleeting time in front of photographs rather than experiencing that eternity. Because the artist has consistently approached new works by addressing the shortcomings or limitations felt in previous ones, his inquiry has always converged on a single question: how can a photograph hold a viewer’s attention, even for a little longer?

Jeongkeun Lee, Temptation trap, 2023, Mixed media, 145x160x320cm ©OCI Museum of Art

At the very moment he was absorbed in this question, a decisive event occurred that gave rise to his current work. On a day of heavy rain in 2021, his studio was flooded. The works he cherished like his own children were completely submerged. Though heartbreaking, it also became an opportunity for a new challenge.

As a way to capture the viewer’s gaze, the artist chose to dress his photographs in elaborate, armor-like frames. For him, the frame functions as a kind of “temptation” and “trap” for the viewer. Upon entering the main lobby of the exhibition, a massive, machine-like structure towering over 3 meters immediately asserts its presence. Like a spotlight illuminating the protagonist on stage, twenty lights attached integrally to both sides of the work reflect off the metallic surface, producing an overwhelming radiance. It is almost impossible to ignore the aura it emits, as if declaring, “Look at me.”

Such a flamboyant exterior naturally captivates attention. The artist draws on the theory of “Supernormal Stimulus,” which describes the phenomenon of being more strongly attracted to exaggerated, unnatural states than to real ones, and expresses this through frames that are more exaggerated than the photographs themselves. What, then, do the photographs within these frames convey?

They depict staged natural phenomena—artificial snow and rain, clouds created with a smog machine. These simulated natures, exaggerated beyond reality to appear even more real, emphasize a shell that stands out more than its core, a fake that appears real.

Jeongkeun Lee, Water world, 2023, Mixed media, 146x177x145cm ©Jeongkeun Lee

Meanwhile, his frames do not merely boast a striking exterior but also acquire functionality, aiming for a complete reversal of subject and object. Materials such as stainless steel and iron, used as the main components of the works, possess both a glossy decorative quality and the practicality to withstand leakage. Furthermore, each work is assigned a clearly defined function.

For example, the work The way to your home originates from the experience of having a mouse in the house. Inspired by the traditional practice of placing chestnut burrs as a tool to repel mice, the artist imagined the tunnel through which the mouse may have passed, constructed an artificial cave, photographed it, and inserted the image into a spherical frame covered with hundreds of sharp, gleaming spikes.

Unnatural elements that appear to have surpassed nature itself—could this be the “supernatural” power of the artist’s work? The viewer is inevitably captivated by the superpower wielded by these stimulating frames. Now, the fleeting moment comes closer to eternity.

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