As in the fairy tales of your childhood, you walk forward, torn between apprehension and wonder, in the dim light of a forest that filters out the light of the outside world.Around you hang long strips of cut-up vines made from scraps left over from the manufacture of COVID masks. As you turn a corner, you discover sculptural objects, silky paintings, metal flowers, hybrid creatures, and strange totems embedded in the fabric vegetation. You become aware of your bated breath, your emotions, the feeling of disorientation, the person ahead of you and the one behind you on the narrow path that Ok Jeong Lee leads you down.Then the path ends, and you emerge into a bright, vast space. Hundreds of compact discs form sparkling rivers on the ground, an open and refreshing sea.The artist has scattered the space with inviting benches and seats, all of which are playful and colorful works of art: transparent suitcases for time travelers, woven chairs, and cloud-like foam cushions. You arrive at home, or rather at her home, in her familiar yet dreamlike universe, where recycled materials speak to crucial themes such as memory, the organization of life and the environment, and the hope for a more spiritual future.Ok Jeong Lee's installation is a metaphor for the succession of unprecedented crises facing the world, a state of permanent disruption with no apparent end in sight. It explores the capacity of humans, as transitional beings, to evolve and face a process of transformation towards new realities, emphasizing the experience of living a situation from within rather than observing it from the outside.In this respect, it echoes the Relational Aesthetics theorized by French art historian Nicolas Bourriaud, according to whom works of art, beyond their form or style, contribute to creating new inter-human relationships and a new sensibility.The space she imagines for us is an invitation to sit down, reflect individually on this journey, and contemplate, in the company of other visitors, a pacified future at the end of the road.Dominique Jacques 2026

Ok Jeong Lee has been living in Auroville since 2008 and began her upcycling project in 2011, following more than 25 years of work as a fashion designer in Korea. With the support of the Auroville community, she continues to explore upcycling as both an artistic and social practice, honouring discarded materials as carriers of memory and transformation. Through workshops and exhibitions in France and India, she has shared the philosophy of upcycling as a way of life. She often says there is a moment when discarded material “speaks” to her — and that is when the work truly begins. Guided by a spiritual awareness of environmental issues, she invites people to create together and imagines a future where upcycling becomes a natural part of everyday living.