Young Ran Lee
Young Ran Lee is an artist and ceramicist living and working in Italy. Her work explores sculptural and architectural objects combined by wheel-throwing and hand-building. She focuses on the observation of consumed, abandoned, degraded, fragmented and scattered objects of urban environments, transforming them with an intuitive approach. Each piece is like a walk in megalithic sites in a distant era.
If you had access to all the powers, how would you improve the world?
I would prefer to share my powers, choosing people who are not interested in political power and money, but willing to honour and respect people.
What are the biggest sustainability challenges in your work and how are you addressing them?
My real sustainability challenge is preserving the traditional methods and meanings. I will continue to make my ceramic sculptures this way, not through algorithms but by using a mental process of purification. I try to understand where the simplicity of forms originally comes from and whether it is the result of emptying us from the superficial contents of our world, in order to be part of the void and to be the void, perhaps that’s where everything has its origins.
Which conscious lifestyle choices are you making? And are you considering any new ones?
I do not have any strong position in life. My choices reflect the instabilities while searching for wisdom by facing everyday facts. Nothing is permanent in life, every choice could be nullified once you make it.
What have you rebelled against in the past, and what are you rebelling against now?
My rebellion could be seen as a refusal of all traditions and modern conventions. My intention when I make my works is to give them a kind of mysterious meaning like a ritual object coming from a distant era.
Do you think tableware can still be improved? If yes, in what way?
Yes, it would be made by many different, unconventional and even yet unimaginable materials.
What was the inspiration for your Steinbeisser pieces?
My inspiration comes from a virtual walk in a megalithic site.
Describe your work in 3 words!
Provocative. Ritual. Hostile.
What kind of materials do you use and where do you get them from?
I often use stoneware clay, and high temperature glazes made by myself. The raw materials I source from different suppliers in the UK, Ireland, Italy and Germany.
What has been your favorite dinner experience?
When I had dinner for the first time in a Buddhist temple in Korea.
What excites you about tomorrow?
Tomorrow is now for me. I enjoy producing things that make me feel happy.
What are your 3 favorite pieces on Jouw…?
I love the Exploding Plates by Adam Knoche, the Beak Pliers Spoon by Sophie Hanagarth, and the Sprouting Spoon by Nils Hint.