Inhye Lee “Unseen Forces”

Soho20 Chelsea Gallery

This event has ended.

SOHO20 presents Unseen Forces an exhibition of new works by artist Inhye Lee, made in collaboration with space physicist Hyomin Kim. For Lee, the relationship between ideas rooted in both art and science is an organic one. She often approaches her work from a perspective of discovery, focusing on sensory perception, interactivity, and play as a way to engage her viewers.

The centerpiece for this exhibition is an interactive kinetic installation, visualizing the electromagnetic connection between the Sun and Earth – something invisible to the human eye, but which has a profound effect on our current technological systems, as well as human health and safety. The installation structure itself is made up of non-magnetic stainless steel frames, acrylic sheets, and tubing, along with hundreds of ball compasses, each stimulated by real science events or locally installed sensors. Although seemingly removed from the scientific forces, the causality of natural phenomenon is nonetheless visible in the movement of the compasses, insinuating that not all that is real can be directly sensed. Also included in the exhibition are a series of digital sketches made with a magnetic field visualization app, each one recording the interference of everyday objects. These colorful, linear systems each hold their own logic – one that reveals itself when we allow ourselves to imagine the vitality latent within the world of ordinary materials.