The Keys to the House with Susan Lee-Chun
Our fourth commissioned artist, the inimitable Miami-based multidisciplinary artist Susan Lee-Chun, pursues her interest in race and identity politics with a heightened sense of purpose. Through sculpture, video and photography, she has developed a body of work that pairs consumer culture with social commentary that truly makes the viewer question their assumptions.
In this moment, while many of us are reflecting on who we are and are rethinking our futures, we talked with Susan about her work, her history with Miami and how the pandemic is affecting her studio practice:
Commissioner: Identity and politics are central and reoccurring themes in your work. Why are these themes important to you? Is there a moment or an experience that led you here?
Susan: To be honest, I would have to say that one day I woke up and said, “What?! I am “Asian?”. As silly as it sounds, my “so-called Asian identity” was revealed to me in my youth by my peers in elementary school through repeated racist and ignorant remarks. I became hyper aware of it and declared war on myself to become concealed within the dominant culture. I believed I became very good at it but once in awhile, someone would pull my mask off and reveal my otherness. So really I was performing and engaging in this personal and critical dialogue long before I realized that this would become the central topic of discussion within my work today.
As an artist, my interests in identity politics truly peaked in grad school. Studying artists such as Kara Walker, Coco Fusco and Cindy Sherman revealed the voracity of the artist’s voice when it came to discussing identity. Every so often I still wake up and I am reminded of who I am and these days I am [kind of] thankful for it.
Commissioner: You have a way of addressing very complex ideas in mundane, familiar and often beautiful or stylized objects. What are you hoping to conceal or reveal with this approach?
Susan: My hands and vision always gravitate to producing stylized objects. My aesthetic is genuine in wanting to create works that people are drawn to visually for its familiarity and beauty. However, what lies beneath, or sometimes on its surface, just staring at you, is a conflict. Conflict between the perception of self, race, and culture.
The tongue-in-cheek tone is also a large component in my studio practice. I have always loved and appreciated the voices of comedians who are tapped into their identities, the binaries and challenges in our society, such as Dave Chapelle, Margaret Cho, Sarah Silverman, and Ali Wong. The effectiveness of presenting divisive topics with humor disarms people and plants a seed.
Commissioner: You have a long history in Miami. In your eyes, how has Miami’s creative community evolved over the years. What do we need more/less of?
Susan: The growth in the arts community in Miami is forward, but with growing pains on all fronts—artists, galleries, museums, collections, artist-run spaces, and non-profits. The range of work and types of artists rising up is an amazing sight, but I feel as though the opportunities to expand and experiment within our city is fairly limited. What we need more of are artist-run spaces that cultivate and celebrate growth within artists themselves. With space scarcity and high rent making it unaffordable, we are met with further delays.
Commissioner: Identity and crisis are at the heart of what we’re experiencing in these unprecedented times. How do you think the pandemic is affecting your practice?
Susan: It causes great moments of pause and reflection. Aren’t we always hopeful that we are on the right track as a society? Then, BAM! Here we are confronted with how issues of race, class, and gender are part of our social fabric and it is unraveling before our eyes in brutally obvious ways. As an Asian American, I am sad for the racism ties within this pandemic. However, it fuels my studio practice and keeps the wheels turning. It’s hard for me to say what impacts this period and shift in our culture will do for my work, however, I look forward to seeing what happens with artist communities of different regions and countries. As a parent, I always hope that my boys will not face too much ignorance or racism and that my work presents itself as talking points for their own identity.
Commissioner: In a few words, a hint of what Commissioner members have to look forward to.
Susan: The keys to my house.