Interviewed and edited by Junghyun Kim.

Junghyun Kim (Interviewer)

Hi, Soyo Lee. Let's talk about "Fly Morgue" (2021). It seems that listening to the artist's voice, not just through webpages, is a mechanism that allows us to experience more about the existence of life forms. The laboratory may seem dry and dispassionate, but it's a place where life circulates. The incredibly minute and invisible life cycle of fruit flies circulates alongside that of humans, who are larger in volume and weight.

The mind map chosen by artist Soyo Lee shows how knowledge and research connect and construct time. The meeting of poet Hyesoon Kim and Soyo Lee is not just a personal encounter, but a meeting of knowledge. It was interesting to note that the point of transition to the next stage from the starting point of "Fly Morgue" in the mind map is poetic language.

The reason biological topics have become a recent theme in art is that biological senses and knowledge produce images that are crucial in this era more than anything else. It's not just a trend in a category of knowledge. Soyo Lee responds sensitively to images used in biological research, examining the context in which they are used, their historical use, and who created them.

The reason biological topics have become a recent theme in art is that biological senses and knowledge produce images that are crucial in this era more than anything else.

In "Fly Morgue," the concept of 'semi-domesticated' is mentioned. If a laboratory is a completely controlled and manipulated space, then the wild refers to nature far away, untouched by humans. However, birds around museums, for example, are neither completely wild nor domesticated. There are many such intermediate entities, and I think we often miss their stories.

Soyo Lee (Conservator)

Both biological images and intermediate areas are issues I always consider. Why I became interested in the way biological images are created as technical images and data, and the gradations and networks of various life forms from the wild to artifacts, I understand these as two major questions.

This year (2021), I worked with "Chosun Plant Encyclopedia, Poisonous Plants Edition" (Bongseob Do, Hakjin Shim co-author, 1948) ^{Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.}
. When you open this encyclopedia, the left page features a large plant illustration, and the right page contains a description ^{This is another margin note.}
. It's a book with about 70 types of plants listed sequentially. The plants in this book have been reclassified in modern times, or their scientific names have changed, or they may not be the exact plants, leaving room for interpretation. Nearly 70 years have passed since the encyclopedia was published, and as mentioned earlier, scientific knowledge continuously updates and changes. The book contains several clues about what these plants are in modern terms. With the help of other books and knowledgeable people, I visited areas in South Korea where these plants grow, collected them, and preserved them as dried specimens in the form of artworks. ^{Margin notes even support links: https://www.artcenter.edu/academics/interdisciplinary-programs/hoffmitz-milken-center-for-typography.html}

JK

Is the work of interpreting and reproducing the image of a living organism a way of reminding us of the significance and form that the organism has as an individual?

SL

Yes, I hope my created biological images can do that.

JK

How should we think about the areas between domesticated and wild?

SL

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Tincidunt egestas odio volutpat aliquam. Pellentesque cursus sapien hendrerit adipiscing pretium sodales pulvinar. Lacus ultricies at ultricies purus volutpat faucibus porta id. Augue velit amet justo sociis quisque velit. Sit aliquam elementum id quam quis ultrices mi adipiscing vitae. Risus netus eu facilisi libero ut sed. Accumsan quis volutpat venenatis aenean massa mattis. Fringilla eu ipsum pharetra bibendum. Pretium at massa amet aliquam elementum rhoncus quisque. Habitasse donec faucibus sed elit turpis. Nunc at nisl congue iaculis pretium in. Convallis adipiscing sed eu habitant. Nam magna lectus sollicitudin iaculis. Sed quis habitant posuere a ornare nibh lacus nunc.
Purus nisi turpis sapien purus fermentum tortor. Eget non felis aliquet gravida quis facilisis in ultricies. Pharetra felis sit cursus in sit. Ullamcorper sed dictumst tincidunt dui egestas aliquam vulputate quis. Sed magna tortor cras sit nisi porta non. Ipsum sit velit consectetur mi turpis id tellus nec.

Vestibulum enim tellus velit pellentesque velit arcu tincidunt justo id. Amet sit porttitor varius commodo faucibus praesent feugiat. Cras justo quam amet tempor scelerisque. Eget nulla pharetra luctus curabitur accumsan quam vulputate rhoncus. Risus senectus sed varius vel. Porta quisque ultrices quisque fusce. Amet donec vitae ultrices sem metus aliquet. Adipiscing tristique vel odio a adipiscing. Magna elementum quis non dolor rhoncus habitant non sagittis. Scelerisque adipiscing pretium aliquam velit ac at lobortis felis. Luctus dapibus viverra est consequat interdum. A venenatis nulla bibendum odio risus. Aenean morbi amet ornare amet eu adipiscing maecenas et.