Jungeun Lee Jungeun Lee

What's the story behind your web cover design for Het Nieuwe Instituut Online?

'I see this image as a snapshot of my current day-to-day life. Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, we've all been trying to stay indoors, specifically in our own private spaces. In the beginning, it felt like we were letting go or being stripped of familiar routines. However, I eventually started to see it as an opportunity to try new things; for me this was potting plants at home. It may sound strange, but I'd never attempted it before, because sustaining a little life seemed like such a big responsibility. Especially in a period in which the flow of time is not made tangible by compartmentalising our day with social interactions and fixed lunch breaks and commutes, we have to rely on the little clock in the corner of our screens to tell us where - or when - we are. For me, this new plant growing in my room became the only clear reminder that time is a forward progression rather than a repetition, a loop. Being locked in an enclosed space for long enough to lose my sense of time, my thriving plant shows me with its shifting shadows that time is still passing, just as it always has.'

How does this piece relate to the rest of your work?

'I'm interested in shapes created through the process of disassembling and reassembling. This approach sometimes forces the viewer to invest time in understanding a compressed message, abstracted into a mere symbol. I enjoy the moment when a new narrative is built together with the viewer, by offering space for their interpretation. For me, the highlight of my work is when I manage to convey a message in simple form that allows efficient communication yet is simultaneously obscure. I am fascinated by the play between these two seemingly opposing phenomena.'

Is the coronavirus pandemic changing the way you work? 

'Since I don't need to travel, I save a lot of time, which means I have more time to work on projects. But in essence I work the same way, except sometimes I have felt like I'm talking to a screen.'

Jungeun Lee is a graphic designer currently based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She graduated from Kaywon School of Art & Design in 2013, and from the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, in 2018. She has participated in international festivals and exhibitions such as Graphic Design Festival Breda (2016), Typojanchi (2017), 100 Films 100 Posters (2018), and Open Recent Graphic Design (2019)..