Lindy Lee

Lindy Lee AO (born 1954) is an Australian painter and sculptor of Chinese heritage, whose work blends the cultures of Australia and her ancestral China and explores her Buddhist faith.

Lee was born in 1954 in Brisbane, Queensland,[1] the daughter of Chinese immigrants who fled Guangdong province[2] in China with their two older children after the rise of communism in that country.

[3] During her years at graduate school at the Sydney College of the Arts in Australia she made her first portrait utilising photocopiers, a technique which featured prominently in her early work.

[3] In 2008, during a residency in Kuala Lumpur, she began experimenting with first pierced paper, and then, with soldering irons and blow torches in a studio in Beijing, started burning holes in other materials, developing her distinctive "fire drawings".

[6] Lee's most prominent public works include several iterations of The Life of Stars at various locations in China and in Adelaide, South Australia, and The Garden of Cloud and Stone in Sydney's Chinatown district.

After experimenting with a technique inspired by Buddhist spiritual practice which focused on oneness with nature, UAP collaborated with her to create the 6 m (20 ft) mirror polished stainless steel, egg-shaped sculpture, The Life of Stars for the commission.

The numerous piercings in the steel were arranged in overlapping concentric circles, representing "earth, life, birth and renewal" that is found in Tao and Buddhist principles,[4] referring symbolically to the connectedness of the universe via a concept used in Mahayana Buddhism.

[4] The latter 6-metre (20 ft) sculpture was mounted on the AGSA forecourt after being presented for the 2018 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Divided Worlds,[9] its polished stainless steel surface reflecting its surroundings[11] while simultaneously radiating light.

[23] Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), commented in 2021:[24]Lindy Lee's work is especially pertinent today, as society is challenged by the realisation of the extent of the climate crisis, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which separates rather than connects people, the rise of populist policies that foster racism, and the Black Lives Matter movement... Lee's work is essentially concerned with the direct and intimate connection between humans and the universe, as a consequence of her exploration of her own identity, living between two cultures and her study of Zen Buddhism.Lee was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2024 Australia Day Honours for "distinguished service to contemporary visual arts as a sculptor and painter, and to arts administration through leadership roles".

[1] She has exhibited widely, with shows outside Australia in the United States, Germany, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.