Exhibition runs through Feb 11 at Centre d’Art, Auroville – Ok Jeong Lee’s walk‑through show “In the Middle and After” is on display until 11 February, open Tuesday‑Friday 2 p.m.–5:30 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.–5:30 p.m. at the Centre d’Art in the universal township [1].
Installation built from up‑cycled COVID‑mask scraps and CDs – Visitors navigate dim corridors lined with cut‑up vines made from leftover COVID‑mask material, then encounter sculptural objects, metal flowers, hybrid creatures and a river of hundreds of compact discs, all fashioned from recycled waste [1].
Curator likens the experience to a fairy‑tale forest – Dominique Jacques, who curated the show, says the walk feels “like the fairy tales of your childhood… torn between apprehension and wonder, in the dim light of a forest that filters out the light of the outside world” [1].
Centre d’Art frames the work as a metaphor for ongoing crises – The hosting institution explains the installation represents “the succession of unprecedented crises… a state of permanent disruption… exploring the capacity of humans… to evolve and face a process of transformation towards new realities” [1].
Concept draws on Bourriaud’s Relational Aesthetics theory – The exhibition echoes French art historian Nicolas Bourriaud’s idea that art creates new inter‑human relationships and sensibilities beyond mere form or style [1].
Artist’s background blends fashion design and up‑cycling activism – Ok Jeong Lee, an Auroville resident since 2008, left a 25‑year fashion design career in Korea to start up‑cycling projects in 2011, using discarded materials as carriers of memory and transformation, and has presented workshops in France and India [1].