Jieun Grace Lee

Studio Art Major, Educational Studies Minor

While the last four years at Carleton have certainly been some of the best in my life, these drawings take a fresh view on the college experience by reflecting my personal day-to-day experiences with candor. I allude to a sense of ‘going through the motions’, and share glimpses of the realities of chronic pain and depression. These drawings show a slice of life that isn’t typically highlighted in the college experience, but is defining of my college experience.  

My drawings are also about endowing the ordinary and everyday with importance. I capture myself amid quotidian, everyday moments that have consistently been a part of my final year at Carleton. We often highlight the big events in our lives while dismissing the in-between moments. It is my hope that this project inspires us to reflect on how we rise, fall, and persevere when no one else is looking. To value moments that typically go unappreciated because they are so mundane. The ‘boring’ stretches of time in our lives are more than gaps in between our most transformative landmarks. They are the connecting bridges without which none of us would be possible. 

Jieun Grace Lee: fuel

#7 of 10
Black and white image of pen drawing that depicts overlapping self-portraits of Grace pouring out and taking medication.
Jieun Grace Lee, ‘happy little pill’, 2022, pen on paper. 9×12 inches.
Previous image
Black and white image of pen drawing that depicts a self-portrait of Grace from the shoulders up. She holds a hand over one side of her face. Her face, hair, hand, and t-shirt all drawn with different levels of realism.
Jieun Grace Lee, ‘loading…’, 2022, pen on paper. 12×18 inches.
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Black and white image of pen drawing that depicts overlapping self-portraits of Grace eating instant ramen with chopsticks.

Jieun Grace Lee, ‘fuel’, 2022, pen on paper. 9×12 inches.

31 March 2022