Forested Peaks, Distant Waterfall, from the series "Sacrifice" One from a set of twenty-four album leaves; ink on paper; with signature in clerical script (lishu) reading "Li Junyi 06"

Curator: Looking at "Forested Peaks, Distant Waterfall," part of Lee Chun-Yi's "Sacrifice" series from 2005 at the Harvard Art Museums, one can immediately recognize the grid that overlays a meticulously rendered landscape. Editor: It's like a pixelated dream...or maybe a memory struggling to surface. Does the grid signify imposed structure on the untamed beauty of nature? Curator: Precisely. I find that Lee's strategic deployment of the grid challenges the romantic allure often associated with landscape painting, prompting us to consider the means of representation itself. It’s a commentary on how we consume and compartmentalize the natural world. Editor: The grid makes me consider the labour involved, the repetitive actions of creating this image through such a structured medium. It changes my relationship to the work, allowing me to see the artist's labour. Curator: Absolutely, and in this labor, we witness a tension between the handmade and the mechanical, highlighting our complex relationship with nature and technology. Editor: It's a fascinating blend. The grid almost makes the scene feel inaccessible, yet the detailed landscape draws me in. This piece is more than just landscape, it's about how we see.