Artist Statement
I create books, smaller and more intimate than my paintings, as an act of reclaiming ownership of memory. I revisit and expand upon experiences that have occurred in the past in a tactile format, the book, to disrupt technology’s omnipresence in daily life. The work is process oriented and a means of emancipating memory from the dominion of digital platforms.
About Field Notes: Hoping to grasp and play with the experiences I had on a trip, I set about making a rough sketched object – an accordion book – to record and build a kind of narrative so that I could refer back to it. I folded and prepared the book simply and awkwardly – much like the act of recalling a memory. The paper (having been a roll for most of its life) rebelled as I folded and molded it into the accordion structure. Before I had made any marks on its pages, the book held many mistakes. It was evident that it was handmade and imperfect. I liked that and decided to keep going. As I reflected and thought about the place, I introduced playful and abstract elements. While each ink drawing acts as a still or frame taken from some rough recording, I wanted my presence to engage with the act of recalling it so I kept it loose. Everything was kept within a grayscale to mimic memory’s foggy nature.
About the Artist
Erica Reed Lee is a visual artist based in Houston, Texas. Her work explores the relationships between place, memory, and human behavior. Lee’s process is based in drawing and extends into large scale paintings. In 2019, Lee completed the New York Studio School Drawing Marathon taught by Graham Nickson. In 2020, Lee joined the Glassell BLOCK program, an advanced studio program led by Francesca Fuchs and Laura August.
© Erica Reed Lee