Works
Artworks that merge physical, traditional sculpture with new media elements as metaphorical references of body and mind, what we hold onto and what we let go
ArtWorks
*Ephemeral and unpredictable *Objects and light *What we hold onto and let go
An audio/video installation at CounterCurrent Festival, Houston TX
The Creation (2018)
An unexpected pregnancy kicks off the second half of life prompting massive shifts in identity, values, and how to see the world anew.
Piano Concerto Houston (2014)
Composer Byron Au Yong and visual artist Susie J. Lee invert private and public space with 11 local pianists, from a former Exxon executive to an immigration lawyer. The pianists come together in a process that deepens the connections between soloist and ensemble.
Split things open open, and things change. I left North Dakota over twenty years ago, and returned last year to dive headlong into a strange machismo of unfettered hyper-capitalism and entrepreneurial spirit in the current oil boom. In a desolate environment where the gender ratio was 20:1 men to women, my presence was unnerving and at times, I felt unsafe and intensely objectified. Yet my role as an artist connecting with strangers and observing with discernment and compassion was nonetheless welcome to those trying to reinvent themselves . I wondered how longtime residents and new transplants defined identity and created community and safety among strangers. In brief moments free from the aggressive gauntlet of work-crazier-and-longer, loneliness is palpable. The real-time portraits reveal this inner tableau of individuals in the oil culture, while on the other end of the spectrum a two channel projection conveys the scale of corporations and the landscape, both indifferent to the ambitions of any individual.
Video portraits in the fracking fields of North Dakota during the 2012 oil boom
Fracking Fields (2013)
A return to the Plains after twenty years revealed a place transformed by prolonged recession and the hope in oil. Video portraits and sculptures reveal the stories and identities of the individuals in search of the American Dream.
In the collection of the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, and private collectors; gifted to Oberlin College
Live performance with projectors, IR cameras, custom programmed PC, and mixed media
Swimming the List (2011)
Creativity layered into a routine day with two lists generated: One, when we buy, drive, cook, pay, work, and pick up. The other, when we observe, extract, mutate, expand, deviate, and linger.
Sold-out shows at Theatre Off Jackson, Seattle WA
Video portraits commissioned by the Washington Care Center, a long term care facility
Still Lives (2010)
This is an unfolding of real time. Half an hour of film was half an hour in each person’s life. The accretion of quiet gestures reveals a reality beyond the single snapshot. Physical integrity begins to wear down, focus fades in and out, and there is the struggle to maintain.
In the collection of Portland Museum of Art, the Frye Art Museum, and Washington Care Center
5 channel projection, 8 channel sound, motion sensor, custom programming, found objects
Shadowplaying (2009)
Capturing the play and elusiveness of childhood, glimpses of shadows emerge then disappear.
Live performance with projectors, IR cameras, custom programmed PC, and mixed media
For these Unclosings (2009)
This performance brings together voice, piano, and live digital drawings precisely choreographed with a dancer.
Sold-out shows at New City Theater, Seattle WA
