Nikki S. Lee: 'Parts and Scenes' at Various Small Fires

Various Small Fires is pleased to present Parts and Scenes, Nikki S. Lee’s first exhibition of the Parts (2002-2004) series in the United States in nearly a decade. The show also presents Scenes (2014), a series of short videos that VSF is proud to debut. 

Parts and Scenes both feature the artist in tableaux of her own design; her visage is the constant that nonetheless changes in the contexts of the various photographs and videos. For Parts, Lee concerns herself with how individual women relate to men, avoiding archetypal female characters as explored by Cindy Sherman in her Untitled Film Stills. The works focus on the female figure, while her male companion is invariably cut out of the composition. What remains, what the artist guides the viewer to see, is the woman and her expression, her clothing and how she carries herself, and what her body language communicates about her mood.

The videos presented within Scenes depict different couples, composed of Lee with anonymous men, making out in various settings—a karaoke bar and a motel room among them. Lee frames the action with her photographer’s eye, rather than that of, say, the pornographer or the motion-picture director. Instead, she encourages viewers to feel the space she pictures. The videos convey disparate feelings, even as they document the awkwardness that attends physical communion. (Dr. Cherise Smith)

Nikki Lee: Parts and Scenes is on view at Various Small Fires through March 2, 2019. To read more, click here.