The Reading Room (2011)

The Reading Room

Works by Michelle Lee & Lee Kai Chung

“I know of a Greek Labyrinth which is a single straight line. Along this line so many philosophers have lost themselves that a mere detective might well do so too...”

Jorge Luis Borges, Ficciones

“The Reading Room” creates metaphor to parallel realities.

In most of the time we read books in a linear manner, that means we first read chapter one and then two, until it finishes. The protagonist would only choose one action in a particular time according to the plot. What happens if he/she chooses the other options in the adventure? To imply points of departure to various

bifurcations, multiverse arises and continues in collateral time and space. Michelle Lee and Lee Kai Chung employ diverse approaches to build a symbolic labyrinth of time and space; through working on existing literature, they explore the concept of relativity.

Michelle’s work starts with the image that she generates from text and the book itself, and then further represents the meta-linguistic concept and sensation. Painting on book-shaped wood panels, Michelle explores the relationship between text and image in literature. Her work transcends the generic mode of reading and preset concept of text.

Lee Kai Chung converts his reading experience into a series of simple acts and further

documented by various media. Through juxtaposing different plains of reality, Chung addresses the historical and political concern in the specific urban and culture setting.

Michelle Lee Ho Wing, a Hong Kong born artist who graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the department of Fine Arts (BA). Since then she explores the relationship between text and image through a variety of media. By reinterpreting and extracting the text directly

from the classic literature and contemporary novels, she transforms the lines, and represents them in extraordinary manner. She investigates the triangular relationship between author, reader and text.

In Michelle’s most recent series, she works on one of the most influential fictions in the 20^th Century, “1984” by English writer George Orwell.