So why are the Ceilings Left Empty?

Parallel worlds are always fascinating because of their complexity and strange familiarity. Sometimes you get stuck in such places as Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. And, at other times it offers you a choice you couldn’t possibly have made, like Doctor Who (David Tennant) creating a duplicate of himself. Ji Lee has created these installations titled Parallel Worlds, he explains:

People fill the floor of their homes with furniture and walls with paints and pictures. So why are the ceilings left empty? Decorating ceilings was a celebrated art form in the past centuries that somehow got lost through the reductionism of modernism. People don’t look at the ceiling anymore. It’s a dead space. So, I wanted to bring a small wink to this space. I also like the idea that somehow there's a parallel world which coexists with ours.

Ji Lee’s Parallel worlds are that of our own realized in contemporary miniaturization, only lacking is an epic adventure and I wonder if the title is a little too ambitious for this project. The focus here is much more to do with the humour and placement and semi-permanent nature of the miniature installation itself. The thing that makes them interesting is that they are very cleverly constructed, appealing and fun. There’s stuff lying on a rug, a chair pulled out invitingly and plants they need attending. Ji Lee asks “So why are our ceilings left empty?” He’s exactly right, maybe it’s time to reconsider this space in new and exciting ways.

Ji Lee – Parallel world. Please enjoy