Thank you
@nzhviva
In conversation with
@maddycrutchley about my work in the latest Arts Issue.
Presenting new work with
@fineartssydney at
@aotearoaartfair
Special thanks to:
@somedaystudios
@samuel_hartnett 📸
THE ARTS ISSUE
Sculptor Yona Lee winds mazes of stainless steel to expose and challenge the connotations of everyday objects. Imagine a soap dish connected to an AT bus seat, or a bed overlooked by a shopfront mannequin.
“By blurring those like boundaries – the characterisation – it creates new meaning and I think it opens up,” Yona tells Viva’s
@maddycrutchley .
The distinctive sculptures, part of an ongoing body of work called ‘In Transit’, have received international recognition. At the link in bio, Yona explains how her informal internship in welding began, what spurs on her site-specific work and how she expects audiences to approach her structures.
“I understand that these objects are very universal. They don’t necessarily, for me, carry personal meanings. I believe in everyone bringing their own memories or their relationships to these objects or the spaces they come from.”
The artist collapses contexts and evokes emotion through her thoughtful works. Yona will debut more at the
@aotearoaartfair with
@fineartssydney this week ⭐️
Also in this week’s edition, and online now at Viva.co.nz, you’ll find a spotlight on emerging artists and the behind-the-scenes details of an exhibition featuring native birds in Aotearoa.
Photo /
@samuel_hartnett
Yona Lee, 2025, studio portrait, pictured with ‘Light in Transit’, 2025, Stainless steel, lamps, 47.5 x 80 x 43.5cm. Courtesy the artist and Fine Arts, Sydney
