Sam Lee

Sam Lee (he/him) is a Korean-Canadian visual artist and documentary photographer who primarily looks for pictures in places that are flooded at least knee-deep in collective memory and nostalgia. Through this work, he attempts to draw attention to the thin veneer of surrealism that has been carefully applied over all surfaces of the familiar and everyday.

His practice employs these visual investigations through photography to suggest critiques of the social phenomena emerging from the effects of globalizaion, immigration and colonisation. His work mainly considers the Asian diaspora lens through which his experience is framed, but also keeping in mind his existence on unceded land.

Sam Lee's practice makes use of traditional photographic processes. He primarily utilizes 6x7 medium format and 4x5 large format colour negative film, and makes optical c-prints in his colour darkroom. Sam was selected to participate in the 2024 cohort of artch, and in 2025, he attended the Beast Bornholm residency in Denmark and exhibited at Contact Photography Festival in Toronto. He is working on his first solo exhibition at the Etobicoke Civic Centre Ascent Gallery, forthcoming in 2025. His work has been exhibited, published and funded by various Montréal-based arts organizations.

samlee.photo