Nikki S. Lee: Part (14), 2002

Nikki S. Lee’s ‘Part (14)’ reveals an incomplete narrative. She sits in the back of a taxi, an anonymous arm around her neck, her face expression inconceivably one of vacancy. Is she listening to the man beside her? Is she looking out the window at something? Lee entertains this idea of narrative in her images, and the ways in which a viewer perceives an image. A subtle implication of a story is revealed through the way her body is placed and presented; she is not resting on the man nor finding comfort in his presence. There is no physical contact but his arm resting upon the back of her neck. This impels the viewer to question further what the image is truly about and Lee’s own mentality, therefore progressively resulting in each observer to interpret the imagery in a different way.

Moreover, as a society we observe people, we people-watch, we are judgemental as a species and it is often in our instinctual nature to understand and have knowledge of what we see. The unknown is unnerving and this disposition is encapsulated successfully in Lee’s photograph. The viewer is likely to create their own narrative to fulfil that unknowing, anonymous identity of the man and the personal interaction between the two.

Furthermore, Lee’s use of cropping reigns hugely notable in this image. A photograph shall be confined to the physical border, but to the subjects themselves a photo is the trigger of a memory. Lee utilises this definitive crop to emphasise how little information a snapshot holds, yet it still has the potential to capture an intensity of passion and emotion for the person in it. Therefore, Lee’s depiction of this standstill captured moment leads the viewer to ask many questions. Such as, perhaps, does absence takes precedence over the visible?

Bibliography:

1. E-flux (2005) NIKKI S. LEE – Announcements [online] Available at: http://www.e-flux.com/announcements/41689/nikki-s-lee/ [Accessed 3 Nov. 2017]
2. McLeod, D. (2004) Stretching Identity to Fit : The Many Faces of Nikki S. Lee. Ciel variable [e-book] Available at: https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/cv/2004-n63-cv1069016/20765ac.pdf [Accessed 3 Nov. 2017]