Language Requirements
Sujin Lee

Sujin Lee is an artist who works from the visual and relational, crossing topics such as the world of contemporary art with languages, translation, etc. In Buenos Aires, she continued with the development of Language Requirements, that had already begun in Russia, where she asks about the English language and the artistic field. Being a Korean artist who lived many years in the United States and having developed her artistic career mainly between English and Korean, she wondered about what English allows, what limits it presents, etc. She interviewed several local actors, from artists to English teachers, and then generated a video piece that she presented in an ´aceNITE as a work-in-process. Sujin Lee will continue with this project in Korea.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Language Requirements is a project that explores various questions that I have regarding the English language. I was born and raised in South Korea but spent a significant amount of time living in the USA speaking English. When I moved back to Korea four years ago, I began asking questions about what it means for me to speak English as an individual and an artist in this global world. I interviewed various individuals in Buenos Aires, from visual artists to an English teacher, about their relationships with the languages that they speak. and explored the questions that I have been asking myself with them. Is English the only language option (or one of the few options) that we have in order to connect with people from different countries and cultures? Is English inclusive or exclusive? What does it mean when one says, “I speak this language”? Can one belong to a language or can a language belong to a person?