Bokeum Lee & Pyunghwa Lee
Bokeum Lee und Pyunghwa Lee are sisters and innovative artists whose distinct practices explore materiality, memory, and societal narratives. Born in Korea and based between Dortmund, Seoul, and Bremen, they draw on their shared experiences of migration to create interdisciplinary works that engage with personal and collective histories. Together, Bokeum and Pyunghwa have collaborated on group exhibitions such as ≪Süß? Sauer?≫ and ≪Unter einem Dach≫ (both 2025, Essen), pushing artistic boundaries and engaging with cultural and social dialogues
BOKEUM LEE combines textile materials with photographic techniques, crafting tactile and visual works that make memories and emotions palpable. Her notable projects include the photographic series ≪ROTEM≫ (2022–2023, funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science NRW, South Korea) and exhibitions such as Staatspreis ≪MANUFACTUM NRW≫ (2025, MKK Dortmund) and ≪Feelings - Internationale Photoszene Köln≫ (2025). She received the German Photobook Award (Bronze, 2025, for ROTEM) and has curated exhibitions like Unter einem Dach≫ and Süß? Sauer?≫ (both 2025, Essen). She is currently pursuing an M.A. in Photography Studies & Practice at Folkwang University of the Arts, Essen.
PYUNGHWA LEE uses video, photography, and narrative structure to address social issues, migration, and identity. Her work combines documentary and poetic elements and focuses on themes such as memory and linguistic spaces. Her most recent projects include video screenings such as Open Doors Video Screening (2024, University of the Arts Bremen) and ≪Fremdheit≫ (2024, Neuland Gallery, Bochum), as well as group exhibitions such as ≪Last Seen Recently≫ (2025, KHB Künstler:innenhaus, Bremen) and ≪art. GERECHT≫ (2025, Xpont-Art Gallery, Hamburg). She was awarded third place in the 2025 University Prize for Fine Arts. Pyunghwa is studying fine arts in the diploma program under Prof. Julika Rudelius at the University of the Arts Bremen.
Residency 01. - 06.03.2026
OPEN STUDIO
사이 둥지 / Nest in Between
Friday, March 6
1-5 p.m.
In their collaborative project, Bokeum and Pyunghwa Lee explore the places they once called home and then left behind. Born in Korea and now living in Germany, the sisters have passed through numerous apartments, rooms and spaces. Some of these places are deeply etched in their memory, while others are gradually fading, or have already disappeared — not only physically, but also linguistically and emotionally.
Their open studio is titled 사이 둥지 (Nest in Between). This motif runs through their artistic practice like a thread and represents an existence in between – between arrival and departure, the familiar and the foreign. Like migratory birds, they build temporary nests as they pass through, made of memories, voices, objects and glances. These nests are not fixed places, but rather inhabited transitions — temporary locations in the space between, bearing traces of migration, translation and new beginnings. They are inhabited for a period of time, offering a fragile sense of closeness in the in-between, before eventually being abandoned again.
They view their project as a form of memory that transcends linear narrative. It works with fragments, overlaps and gaps. For them, recapitulation involves more than just restoring the original state: it also involves a shift that offers a renewed experience from their current perspective, with an awareness of what has been forgotten.
