Korean designer Yoonjeong Lee tells ordinary stories in extraordinary ways

Earlier this year, an object caught our attention: a lamp with a reductive, minimal design, featuring a wooden support and a simple paper shade. It might have almost gone unnoticed in a sea of equally well-proportioned, carefully crafted designs, if it had been for one crucial detail: the shade was kept in place by a pencil stub, discreetly puncturing the paper onto the wood. It was the work of Korean designer Yoonjeong Lee, whose practice is focused on contemplating the mundane to reveal and elevate those hidden details that often are not obvious to the viewer.

Yoonjeong Lee: making the mundane precious

‘Rather than seeking specific inspiration, my work centres on the ordinary; ordinary lives, and ordinary stories. I have always discovered interesting points by re-examining moments that are unassuming, or familiar actions and familiar objects.’ she explains. ‘These include objects that are small, quiet, or disappearing, such as components, the internal structure of furniture, or pencils used down to a stub, as well as those that are familiar or ordinary. I believe these elements are not inherently supporting components; rather, they are simply overlooked or forgotten in our current focus.’

Lee majored in Metal Art & Design from Hongik University in Seoul, and her interest has been clear from her graduation work, aptly titled ‘nails’ and exploring the humble utilitarian tool as a thing of beauty. Nails have since been a recurring theme of her work, either existing as objects on their own, shown in frames and cases as jewellery objects (‘I find great delight in the process of creating independent value for these subjects,’ she notes), cast as organic objects with irregular edges, keeping their function intact but expanding on their aesthetic potential.

The forms and textures of her work are the result of a bespoke casting method devised by Lee so she can create these objects in her studio, instead of sending them to a factory or workshop. The casting process fascinates Lee, who works mainly in aluminium, brass and pewter, with a particular fondness, she notes, for the molten state: ‘The condition where they can flow anywhere and transform into any form allows me to engage in boundless imagination. For me, metal is therefore always a hot and passionate material.’

When not producing nails, Lee branches out into the functional realm with architectural ironmongery that bears the same poetic quality, lamps and candleholders, table settings that merge a metallic preciousness with a handmade quality. ‘I prefer to make functional objects, I prioritize the value of tactile sensation, and to me, function means a tactile experience,’ she explains. ‘I believe a piece is only completed when there is an interaction, when the user recognizes its form and realizes its intent by touching and using it.’

The pencil returns across the work of the designer, always used as a functional fastening tool, rather than the drawing object it was initially designed for - ‘a new form of existence’, she describes it. ‘One day, I realized that the shape of a nearly spent pencil stub, about to be discarded, closely resembled that of a nail. This inspired me to keep its original shape, remove the remaining graphite, and insert a rigid metal core, transforming it into the 'Pencil Nail.' Now, this transformed pencil is no longer a writing tool but a structural support, gaining a new identity. A pencil that has fulfilled its initial purpose gains a new function, continuing to exist in a different form.’

In 2024, Lee’s work was the subject of a solo exhibition at LA art gallery Gobi; titled ‘Heroes and Protagonists’, it honed in on her practice’s recurring concerns with a display of objects that included nails and the internal structure of a sofa. A cheap, folding wall clothes hanger was reproduced in metal, its pegs substituted by preciously hand-cast hooks. ‘This work was an exploration of the conventional relationships and hierarchy between objects that reside in the subconscious,’ she adds. ‘Ultimately, I aimed to express a state where everyone is a protagonist or no one is - a state of equality - conveying my interest in smaller, often overlooked entities.’

This show revealed that the forms and typologies of Lee’s objects are universal, part of a common experience with objects and interiors. ‘The most intriguing experience of this first overseas exhibition was the fundamental realization that the stories I intended to tell through my work were being conveyed and understood. I realized that despite the diverse ways people live, the resulting experiences and emotions often share a common ground.’