Bang & Lee is a Seoul-based artist duo whose work spans various genres, including interactive and participatory projects that merge art with technology. Utilizing diverse materials and media—from kinetic lighting and optical fiber projection to generative art, 3D animation, and game engine-based videos—their installations are highly adaptable to different contexts and settings. These works often adopt a fractal-like structure, evolving as they are rearranged. Through their creative process, Bang & Lee explore themes of absurdity, contradiction, and paradox, frequently integrating historical references and fictional elements to examine the relationships among media, technology, communication, collaboration, and friendship. Their narratives reflect individual experiences and communal memories/history, represented in multidimensional ways through texts, drawings, paintings, three-dimensional objects, virtual reality, and video game worlds.
Bang & Lee’s work has been exhibited at numerous art institutions, including ZKM – Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany; MAXXI – National Museum of 21st Century Art in Rome, Italy; La Friche Belle de Mai in Marseille, France; Beijing Commune and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai, China; the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts and the Digital Art Center in Taipei, Taiwan; Nafasi Art Space in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and various art centers and museums in Seoul, Korea.
In response to the recent pandemic, Bang & Lee have turned their focus to pressing social issues, non-face-to-face culture, and the climate crisis, examining the roles of art in these contexts. They have pushed the boundaries of media art, exploring new transformations in their creative approach and concentrating on online media-based artistic activities within new metaverse environments. This shift has increased accessibility for digital audiences, allowing for immersive experiences through VR technology and game engines.
In 2021, Bang & Lee were selected for the ‘UK-KR Climate Change Creative Project,’ a collaboration between the Korea Foundation and the British Council in partnership with Art Center Nabi in Seoul, Korea and Watershed in Bristol, UK. Their project, titled ‘Gathering Moss,’ is part of the British Council’s global program ‘Climate Connection’ and is linked to the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow, UK. Bang & Lee aim to use art as a means of engaging with climate action and fostering sustainable practices for future generations.
