Today we’d like to introduce you to Ej Lee
Ej, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is EJ Lee, I am a mixed media collage artist. I am originally from Frederick, MD, and recently moved to Baltimore City. I have been a practicing artist since 2015 after I graduated from McDaniel College. Several years later I graduated with my MFA from Maine College of Art in 2020. I have been featured at the 39th annual National Collage Society juried show at Kean University in 2023 and Impact Gallery for their juried show “Golden” in Washington DC in 2018. In October be featured in an international show with PAKS Gallery showcasing some of my artworks in Paris.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Everyone struggles one way or another. Nothing worth having is worth getting if it’s handed to you on a silver platter. Being dyslexic is my daily struggle that did not go away when I turned 18. And of course, there were significant challenges that I had to overcome just to get an education.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My practice consists of uncovering the complexities of the English Language through my poems from a dyslexic perspective. This fascination started with a simple protest in my first year at graduate school. The class were given a simple assignment every week to keep the creative juices flowing. That week’s theme was “A Body of Activism.” Before this assignment, I have never protested anything in my life before. Naturally, I decided to protest the classroom itself. I wrote an autobiographical poem on cut foam board about my life and the struggles I faced in the classroom environment as a severely dyslexic individual. on the day of the class I sat three feet outside of the doorway of the classroom poem in hand for the entirety of the class (the class lasted 3 hours). The majority of that class period was spent on critiquing my “protest” (mind you there were at least 15 other students in the classroom waiting for their turn which was then delayed until later that week).
This unintentionally became the foundation of my practice. I never realized my impact or voice in the matter until that moment. Since then I experimented with many forms of media during my grad program to see how I could visually illustrate the complexity of dyslexia and the English language through text and color.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I am very new to the city area, and still figuring out how to navigate around. I look forward to exploring not only my immediate neighborhood but the surrounding areas as well.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @ejleesartwork
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EJsARTWORK/
