Contradiction and the Unknown Permeate Isaiah Lee’s Imaginative Dollhouse Paintings
For Chicago artist Isaiah Lee, a dollhouse becomes the site of uncanny imaginations. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Contradiction and the Unknown Permeate Isaiah Lee’s Imaginative Dollhouse Paintings appeared first on Colossal .
Isaiah Lee's artistic practice revolves around a dollhouse with a teal roof and gabled windows, located in the heart of his current body of work. The Chicago artist transforms childhood toys into eerie, living beings that inhabit the miniature rooms and landscape surrounding the dollhouse. Drawing from his childhood experiences, Lee explores the interconnectedness of imagined scenarios and the lasting impact on one's life.
Raised in a fundamentalist Christian family in Missouri, Lee navigates the contradictions within his upbringing while confronting the reality of being a Black man in the United States. In the painting "Shepherd I," a tiny green astronaut takes on the role of Moses, leading livestock through the miniature house, while an enormous skull and concealed man loom in the shadows.
The stark contrast in size throughout a single scene highlights the significant influence certain events can have, and how our memories can exaggerate their magnitude.
Lee's paintings employ narrative layers, as evident in "Romeo and Juliet" and "Juliet," which present contrasting perspectives of the same scene. Using perspective shifts and shadow play, the artist creates an "illuminated nook" within a vast network of the unknown. In his words, "They arrive at a moment when it feels necessary to return to childhood as a way of uncovering who we are and what good we are still capable of bringing forth."
The darkness that pervades many of Lee's pieces is not sinister, but rather suggests the omnipresence of the unknown and an underlying sense of fear. He reflects that "faith cannot simply be abandoned but must be understood as an inheritance wrought into the body and the imagination." Preparing for a solo exhibition titled "A Thief in the Night" this fall at crosswalk in Chicago, Lee's show alludes to the Biblical notion of repentance, and the belief that no amount of faithfulness is truly enough. "Life becomes a race against time, a race that cannot be won," he muses.
Lee's works can be viewed through November 1 at Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago, and "A Thief in the Night" opens on October 16. Follow his artistic journey on Instagram.
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