One from a set of twenty-four album leaves; ink on paper; with signature in clerical script (lishu) reading "Li Junyi 06"
Secluded Mountain Temple, from the series "Sacrifice"
Lee Chun-Yi (Li Junyi) æåæ¯?2005
@leechunyilijunyiaeaae2005Harvard Art Museums
Harvard Art MuseumsListen to curator's interpretation
Curatorial notes
Editor: This is Lee Chun-Yi’s "Secluded Mountain Temple" from the "Sacrifice" series, created in 2005. The gridded landscape is fascinating, almost like data. How do you interpret this work? Curator: The grid evokes systems of control and surveillance, overlaying nature. Consider how this resonates with themes of environmental exploitation and cultural erasure often linked to globalization. How does the title "Sacrifice" inform your understanding? Editor: It makes me think about what is lost when nature is quantified and commodified. Curator: Precisely. The "temple" structure itself, built of similar grid units, further emphasizes the imposition of human-made structures onto the natural world. We must ask, what is truly being sacrificed? Editor: That’s a powerful point. I see this piece in a new light now. Curator: Art can challenge us to confront uncomfortable truths about our relationship with the environment and each other.