Heavenly Dream School (2023)

Blair Hannah Lee (she/her)

5 x 7 inches

Pen and pencil on paper

A haunting meditation on Korean division springs to life in this raw, street art-inspired illustration. At its heart, a tiger – traditionally Korea's spiritual guardian – morphs into the shape of the peninsula itself, its body marked by North Korean stars like wounds or badges of identity. "Heavenly Dream School" floats above in rebellious lettering, while scattered motifs of weapons, trophies, and silhouetted figures tell a story of conflict and aspiration. The golden backdrop and folk art elements clash brilliantly with modern street art sensibilities, creating a powerful commentary on cultural identity, division, and the dream of unity in modern Korea.

Alt-Text: A stylized illustration on a paper featuring a central tiger figure shaped like the Korean peninsula, decorated with the North Korean star. The text "Heavenly Dream School" appears in a decorative lettering, alongside a location "Seoul, Korea." Various symbolic elements include a trophy, weapons, red stars, and silhouettes of people positioned like a weapon. The composition includes text fragments about culture, lifestyle, and differences, with scattered numbers and fence-like patterns. Small human figures appear in the corner, with elements like bones and dividing lines creating a complex narrative about Korean identity and division.

Blair Hannah Lee is a New York based artist born in San Francisco, California and raised in Seoul, South Korea. Currently working toward her BFA in Studio Art, Blair’s practice is centered around dreams and unconsciousness through investigative art-making processes. In creating multimedia work, her practice explores the mysterious realm of sleepwalking experiences by documenting and interpreting nocturnal activities. Through repetitive visual exploration and dream "journals," her body of work delves into the subconscious mind's hidden landscapes and the complex layers of self-understanding.

Artist Statement

My foray into art in the public realm is a recent development and I look forward to expanding my practice into other less familiar spheres. Yet the majority of my work comes from an intimate locus where even I am not privy to its origins or impetus. As a compulsive sleepwalker, I am somewhat left in the dark, both neuropsychologically and physiologically, about what my body and mind experience in this subconscious state. I can only confirm my sleepwalking by finding an eyewitness or incontrovertible evidence proving its occurrence. Adopting the methods of a detective, I commence my inspection by looking for clues.

My process is inspired by the works and philosophy of Louise Bourgeois. Her apt characterization – Art is not about art. Art is about life, and that sums it up – it informs my practice of investing life in art rather than the other way around. Likewise, I share my inner life through my artistic dream “journals”, which are authentic representations of the layers of myself. Another guiding principle of Bourgeois' artistic production is the intrinsic value of revisiting and re-treating a theme over and over again across an artist’s life. She revisits the spider, weaving a web of personal meaning out of the compulsion to repeat and the repetitions themselves. The process of repetition is significant in that I am trying to decipher and visually render an indescribable phenomenon.