State of the DysUnion: Joyce Yu-Jean Lee

January 25 – March 1, 2018 Opening reception: January 25, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. Artist Talk (Co-hosted by IMAP), in the Gallery and auditorium (B08), February 13 at 7 p.m. The Visual Arts Gallery (100 Culver Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07305) State of the DysUnion is an exhibition by Joyce Yu-Jean Lee about the media landscape today. In the Trumpian age of “fake news” and “alternative facts,” diverse truths prompt her to ask: How does the media reflect and/or script dominant ideologies about the public sphere, socio-economic class, political partisanship, cultural nationalism, and geopolitics? How can individuals exert agency over their media consumption? How does societymeasure truth or qualify neutrality? Through animated video installations, Lee presents a snapshot of current journalism, advertising and the internet. Daily headlines and photographs are indexed and projected onto a suspended cylindrical screen which streams a wide spectrum of social and political perspectives. Experimenting with sculptural video projection and intervention of the gallery architecture, State of the DysUnion calls audiences to examine their contemporary visual language, it’s documentation, distribution, and role in developing culture and history. Joyce Yu-Jean Lee is an artist working with video, interactive technology, installation, and performance to examine how mass media and visual culture shapes notions of truth and the “other.” Her recent project about Internet censorship, FIREWALL, garnered the attention of Chinese authorities and was reviewed by Hyperallergic, The Washington Post, and ArtCritical. Lee is the recipient of a 2016 Creative Engagement grant from Lower Manhattan Cultural Council; a 2015 grant from Asian Women Giving Circle; a 2013 Franklin Furnace Fund grant; a 2013 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award; and a 2010 Traveling Scholarship from The Walters Art Museum. She has participated in artist residencies at Vermont Studio Center and DNA Gallery. She teaches part-time at New Jersey City University and the Fashion Institute of Technology, and serves as a trustee for The Contemporary in Baltimore. For further information, visit http://www.joyceyujeanlee.com/ Image: Joyce Yu-Jean Lee, On the Brink, 2014, School 33, Baltimore, MD, 2-channel video projection, custom screen, artificial grass. NJCU Visual Arts Gallery Visual Arts Building, basement 100 Culver Avenue Jersey City, NJ 07305 Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. or by appointment (201)200-2496 http://www.njcu.edu/center-arts/visual-art