BareBones 2020 · OFFERINGS: Artists Respond to the Mourning, Grieving and Fires on Lake Street
Amber Lee
Spirit Lantern Puppets
Amber Lee’s spirit lantern puppets resembling jellyfish were created and offered to give space to all the dead including all those murdered by injustice.
For the recent OFFERINGS: BareBones 2020 live pop-ups: People had experienced the jellyfish puppets, which the artist had installed in their front yard and then walked in the local park the following night. Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 – Lake St. and Powderhorn Park.
Amber’s project involved working towards collaborating with several fellow artists and creating an environment for the magical process of BareBones, which morphed every single moment on the way. What began with an idea for a guerrilla puppet event with apocalyptic bike puppets, wolves, tent lanterns, and a giant inflatable moon became a much simpler construction of lanterns to honor the dead that resonate in our thoughts and hearts throughout this tumultuous era.
This is what matters most to Amber who noted:
“The space we create for unknowns, space for the life force that is connected to forging into the unknown of creation as well as the space we create for the unknown of the after-life, the biggest community of all quietly waiting for us to join someday.
I honor those precious lives taken by injustice, taken by sickness, and taken by the stress of living in this world. I honor the lives that were essential to helping us be where we are now, and the spirits that continue on, merging and morphing with the living world around us.
I hope my awkward attempts at healing contribute to the community, to help find balance and meaning in the storm that rages on. I know they do for me, and so do all of the efforts by the artists in this community.”
About the Artist
Amber Lee is a quietly dedicated member of the BareBones community, working on shows since 2002. She is deeply invested in a community that supports the processing and honoring of death and transition.