Lee Bul explores technology and humanity at Hauser & Wirth

Artist Lee Bul is presenting a new exhibition titled ‘The Anatomy of Every Setting Sun’ at Hauser & Wirth in New York. The showcase features recent works that examine the complex relationship between humanity and technology, specifically investigating the modern belief that humans can engineer a superior future through reason and technological advancement.

Throughout her nearly 40-year career, Lee has explored themes of vulnerability and transformation. Her early work in the late 1980s and early 1990s was marked by provocative performances in South Korea during its transition to democracy. In 1997, she gained international attention at MoMA with ‘Majestic Splendor,’ an installation of bejeweled, decomposing fish.

Following the era of mammalian cloning, Lee developed her acclaimed ‘Cyborg’ series, which utilizes part-woman, part-machine figures to reflect the human drive to transcend biological conditions through technology. A central piece in the current New York exhibition is ‘Willing To Be Vulnerable—Metalized Balloon’ (2015–16/2020), a 17-meter-long PET-film sculpture inspired by the Hindenburg Zeppelin.