22 April 2016
Most recognised for his double happiness series, local artist Justin Lee returned to school after 16 years of practice to take on a Master of Arts in Fine Arts (MA Fine Arts).
Justin, who was nominated in 2006 for the President’s Design Award and recipient of the Mont Blanc Young Artist World Patronage Project in the same year, has widely exhibited his works and participated in many artist-in-residency programmes, locally and internationally.
Celebration of Life by Justin Lee for i Light Marina Bay 2014
In a conversation with the passionate and friendly artist, we find out about his motivation and experience for advancing his art making through the educational route, as well as his journey as an artist.
1. Since 1996, you have been pursuing a career in the arts, and as an established artist, you are coming back again for your MA Fine Arts. What inspired you to advance your art making with a Masters?
I have been in practice for a long time. I felt exhausted and my ideas were drying up. More importantly, many of my projects and commissions throughout these years were very commercially driven. I wanted to go back to art making. So I decided to take a break and pursue my Masters with LASALLE.
Before when I was teaching part-time in LASALLE, I had come across many young promising artists who had very interesting visual languages. That made me decide to go to LASALLE. I wanted to mix with the new blood and learn from the young people.
2. Now that you are almost completing your studies in MA Fine Arts, could you tell us about the most interesting experience you had during your course here?
At the diploma level, everyone was still young and energetic. Then, we were all looking forward to becoming an artist. But now, in my Master’s class, we are already artists and everyone is a professional. The question becomes “What do we want to achieve?”
I came back to LASALLE to re-learn and to meet people from diverse backgrounds. All of my classmates have their own professional practices: for instance, there is a photographer and an interior designer in my class. Everyone has his or her own unique specialty. I find it stimulating listening to different perspectives, which can help me to further develop my practice.
I am also very grateful to my lecturers, Ian Woo and Adeline Kueh. I have really benefitted from their mentorship. Their advice greatly influenced my final year project, which can be seen at the upcoming MA Fine Arts Graduation showcase.
Justin Lee, Bundle of love 2016, 91 tin-cans, dimensions variable
3. Tell us about the project you did with Facebook.
I feel very honoured to be invited to work on this project with Facebook. I was given a free hand to propose any ideas and I chose to do a mural in the office space. My work was an introduction to Singapore culture for the many expatriates working in Facebook. This work is also part of my Double Happiness Series.
Image of Mural Painting by Justin Lee at Singapore Facebook office in August 2015
4. What are some of the challenges you faced as an artist? How did you overcome them?
In the beginning, I knew I wanted to be an artist, but I was uncertain whether I could succeed. So I made the effort to visit all kinds of exhibitions to see how things were structured. Gradually, I started to understand where I fit in – the type of galleries – so I focused on one that best suited me, to help me in selling my works. That worked for me at the start of my career.
As time passed, I began to ask myself, “Am I just an artist who sells art to generate money?” My answer was no. I did not want to go down that direction, so I looked for other avenues.
We are a small country. I believe that the opportunities in Singapore can be limited if we do not explore different places. I started going abroad for artist-in-residency programmes, and I managed to gain more exposure and interacted with other artists. After a while, people became aware of my practice through word-of-mouth, and eventually I received invitations to exhibit my works locally and internationally.
Whenever I am faced with challenges, I will make sure to persist even if I have to do things that I may not enjoy – such as taking up multiple part-time jobs in various industries to sustain myself, buy art materials and do solo exhibitions – in order to make my dream come true. This is, to me, a positive mindset to have.
5. Any word of advice for aspiring artists?
We should not treat art as a moneymaking machine. I live by this motto: “Do not do the same things that other people are already doing.” Artists always push the boundaries. I hope that the aspiring artists can continue to explore the possibilities.
