Bioplastics — Decaying Time

Jay Lee creates sculptures from cornstarch, agar-agar, and gelatin — materials that decompose and transform over months, embodying decaying time. The practice began at Uncool Artist residency in Brooklyn (2024), where kitchen ingredients became sculptural media. At The Material Way exhibition in Copenhagen (2024), bioplastic sheets made from local grains were installed in a traditional Danish yurt, carrying the textures and smells of their ingredients. 'Constellation of Everyday' (UA Gallery, Brooklyn, 2024) consisted of bioplastic sculptures made from food scraps, asphalts, and tree barks collected from New York streets. 'Singing and Dancing' — a 1-meter pyramid of natural pigment on canvas and Amazon carton boxes — was shown at 'At Different Speeds' (UA Gallery, 2024). The bioplastic practice extends to 'Weaving Memories' (London, 2025), where cornstarch bioplastic was combined with cornhusks and corn fiber from the artist's grandmother's farm in South Korea, connecting personal agricultural heritage with contemporary material experimentation.