THE MAGAZINE by Haleen Lee
257 × 364mm, 208 pages, Colour printing, Open glue bound, Softcover, Signed & hand numbered, Edition of 60, 2026
The Magazine is a photo-painting series derived from Borderless.
Participants are recruited through social media and selected on whether what they actually wear aligns with the direction of the work. Clothing, hair and make-up are decided entirely by the participant — moving the styling from photographer to subject is what separates this from a commercial shoot. Each is recorded full-length in a chosen location; the shapes and colours produced by the clothing and the body are then extracted and rebuilt as painting.
The final form is sequence. Photograph and derived painting are paired and placed side by side, and images sharing formal resemblance accumulate into a typological record. The figure is not the subject of representation but a carrier for the colour of a place and a moment; the painting does not describe the person, it absorbs the state around them; Holding to continuity, frontality and objectivity, the structure can extend indefinitely as long as there is something to compare.
A method that began in painting is tested by passing through photography and publishing. That is why The Magazine is an extension of Borderless rather than a departure from it.
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