Lee Wen's Notebooks Trace the Evolution from Drawing to Performance Art

In Afterall Journal 46, Võ Hồng Chương-Đài analyzes Lee Wen's early sketchbooks and notebooks, demonstrating the transition of his artistic focus from drawing and painting to performance art. Lee Wen (1957–2019) documented his thoughts in a notebook during 1981 while studying in Canada and the US, filled with anxious figures and reflections on merging visual art with music and writing. Growing up in Singapore amidst rapid modernization prompted artists to reconsider historical narratives. Performance art, influenced by Tang Da Wu, who established The Artists Village (TAV) in 1988, became a significant medium. Lee Wen joined TAV in 1989 with fellow artists like Vincent Leow, Amanda Heng, and Koh Nguang How. His initial sketches featured diagonal and circular lines, evolving into color and form studies that culminated in performances such as Journey of a Yellow Man (1992–2001) and Anthropometry Revision (2008). He studied at LASALLE College of the Arts and City College of London Polytechnic, co-founding Future of Imagination (FOI) in 2004. The essay posits that his notebooks illustrate a view of line as dynamic energy, bridging the inner self with the outer world.