“Fantastic World of Daniel Lee”

Date: 2008/9/9~10/31
Venue: Center for Arts & Humanities , National Yang Ming University
(Second floor of Library, Information and Research Building)

"108 Windows"

108 Windows    1996 , 2 pces 100×210 cm Archival print

Han-Sun Temple, in Eastern China, was famed for the far-reaching sound of its ancient bells. The bells were traditionally rung 108 times on special occasions, including New Year's Eve. Each toll of the bell reverberates through one of the 108 windows in the Buddhist underworld as a means of expressing its blessing to the entire 108 entities in the circle of reincarnation.
Chinese Buddhism believe that there are six basic levels of entities in reincarnation: Fairies, Humans, Guardians, Demons, Hell Prisoners and Animals. Through these cycles of transformations, man has inherited certain traits from his inhuman conterparts and molded them into his nature.

Inside my Temple, there are portraits of 108 beings. The Temple with 108 Windows reminds us of our past and asks where are we going.

Daniel Lee 1996

"Origin"

Origin    2001 , 12pieces 57×76 cm Digital C-print

Origin was a series of manipulated photo images which describes human evolution based on my imagination. I proposed that there were ten stages in human evolution, from the fish form (as Coelacanth) eventually transforming to reptiles, apes and humans. It was first shown at O.K. Harris gallery during June/July, 1999 in New York City, as a sequence of eleven pieces, 37.5 x 50 inches digital C-prints, along with an animated presentation.
My motivation derives from the new Millennium (year of 2000) which suggests to me the grand beginning of everything. My concept started in 1997, a few months after the New York Times Magazine gave me the opportunity to create a self-portrait for a special technology issue. I made a sequence of four portraits which showed our past as apes and our future in perspective. To take it further, I asserted that all of the mammals, the reptiles and the fishes were related to us to begin with.

Daniel Lee, 1999

"Harvest"

Harvest- Celebration    2004 , 88×176cm Archival canvas

Science has allowed the possibility of extending our lives, but has never satisfied humanity’s greed. The replacement of diseased or aged organs with healthy ones is now the key to longevity. Benefiting from stem cell and the decoding of animal DNA, the acceptance of organs from our fellow animals eventually would provide us with a fresh stock of donors.
I've been informed that pigs are biologically more similar to humans than sheep and in some cases even more compatible to us than monkeys.

I invite you to a not too distant future in a location populated with a breed of livestock that supplies human eyes, hearts, livers and other harvested organs. In generations to come, these animals will become more than organ hosts, they will incorporate the science that created them, evolving with traits and behaviors that are distinctly human.

In the world of these new creatures, I see a discovery of joy and sorrow, which would in many ways be similar to ours. As a result, the success of science would inevitably raise greater questions once again…

Daniel Lee 2004

Harvest- Dancers    2004 , 89x127cm Digital C-print

Harvest- Watching TV    2004 , 89x127cm Digital C-print