Leesi South Korean, 1990-

Leesi is a sculptor born in 1990 in South Korea.

It was by serendipity that Leesi first came across these images. He was wandering around the Internet, looking for inspiration, going from link to link, when some portraits caught his eye: children of African origin, confident, assertive, beautifully dressed, on the website of an adoption agency. He was directly moved by the contrast between the beauty of these subjects and the painful origins of these photos. For him, these orphans sent out a message of hope, of radiance. They had chosen to show themselves to the world in this light, facing adversity in the expectation of a better future. They seemed to have come to terms with their condition. It was this power of self-determination that inspired the artist's depictions of self-assured young men and women.

First with cement, a building material so common that we end up forgetting about it. The artist saw in this material something unfinished, still developing, also reminiscent of a certain precariousness. The children appeared as vulnerable, porous and unstable figures. It was then with resin that he was able to best retranscribe the strength he had seen in these personalities. Greater particle density, more homogeneous colors: the volume appears more held together, more unified. The drapery becomes denser, the reliefs more assertive, and with them the children's posture more defined. They appear as proud, active subjects. The free, unrestrained brushstrokes made possible by the technique give the figures a vibrancy and energy. Whether they're standing, hands in pockets or straddling an angle, they exude the same vitality. It is also through this gesture that the Korean sculptor moves away from a miserabilism and turns these beings into serene muses.

Not only does the artist seek to highlight these difficult stories, often forgotten and yet close to us: he also turns these characters into heroes, fully capable of deciding for themselves about their lives. For Leesi, these sculptures are not meant to say something about society. His desire is above all to underline the message of hope that these orphans convey. Through their expressions, their positions and their actions, he highlights their freedom and their ability to act to offer themselves a brighter future. They seem to produce their own light, to write their own destiny.