Hyungkoo Lee (born 1969, Pohang, South Korea) lives and works in Seoul, where he pursues an artistic practice that operates at the intersection of art and science. His work is characterized by a combination of rigorous research and playful experimentation, blending anatomical observation with irony. Through a meticulous analysis of forms, Lee deconstructs and reinterprets elements of collective imagination, transforming familiar figures—often drawn from the world of animation—into three-dimensional sculptures that strikingly merge reality and fiction.
Canis D Animatus (muscle attachment) depicts an anatomical sculpture of a dog, with its muscular tissues and skeletal structure prominently displayed. The animal evokes the memory of a cartoon character and is portrayed standing upright, with distinctly anthropomorphic movements: the dog walks, mimicking human posture and gait. The artist’s aim is to evoke the aesthetic of anatomical models used for studying the human body, applying the same scientific precision to the realm of animated fantasy.
The work is part of the Animatus series, initiated in 2005, in which Hyungkoo Lee reinterprets famous animated animal characters—traditionally confined to two-dimensional representation—by reconstructing them in three-dimensional form. Through this process, Lee grants these figures a new physical presence, endowing them with a sense of reality akin to that found in human anatomical studies, as though rewriting their physiological history from scratch. Each sculpture is built upon a meticulously crafted skeleton, over which the artist layers muscle structures, creating a body that combines structural rigidity with a sense of movement and vitality.
Hyungkoo Lee’s artistic practice can be described as a form of scientific investigation applied to art. His works often begin with ironic reproductions of animal skeletons, X-rays, and anatomical busts, blending a rigorous, methodical approach with subtle humor. In his hands, art becomes a technical tool for exploration and study—a means of analyzing figures and bodies through the lens of medical science, while maintaining the aesthetic appeal and imaginative quality typical of the world of animation.

Hyungkoo Lee, Canis D Animatus (muscle attachment), 2015
139 × 96 × 44.5 cm, pedestal 12 × 140 × 70 cm
resin, glass, oil paint

19/07/25