Carter Lee

Belonging

photography book, digital-inkjet print

8″ x 10″

2023

Not for sale

My dad’s creative side peeked out throughout my childhood. It was hard to appreciate because of how he treated us. I discovered my love for photography with his camera which I still use today. “Belonging” is a collection of family photos, pictures I’ve taken, and pictures my dad has taken. Growing up Asian in a primarily white town and as a queer kid raised in the Korean church, I’m familiar with questions of identity/belonging. Where does one find a connection to their Korean culture when Korean people and spaces are sparse? Can photography create connections across time/locations to build family/community?

@turtlemitosis

Carter Lee

Clark University, 2024, Studio Art

Untitled (IMG_2139.jpg)

permanent marker and acrylic paint on mixed-media paper

40″ x 44″

2023

I projected this image onto a wall and constructed a workable surface with sheets of paper. Piece by piece and line by line, I brought the digital photograph back into the physical world. Untitled (IMG_2139.jpg) revisits a sweet memory, playing with medium, style, and color to create a new experience of the moment. My mom celebrating her 66th birthday, rendered in various shades of blue, sits in a pocket of both joy and grief.

@turtlemitosis