Lionel (Lee) Pedersen (1924-2013)
Lee is a true outsider...
Lionel (Lee) Pedersen walked into Artsite Contemporary Galleries about four years ago and in one sense originated the idea of this exhibition.
Lee was a back lane scavenger, a recycler of discarded things, and would often bring finds into the gallery for perusal before delivering to the Cat protection Society or local charity shops.
Lees work is truly remarkable, imbued with a sense of humour and often produced in response to current events or articles he found in newspapers and television. Regrettably Lee was developing dementia and whilst some of his history has been pieced together by the curator David Morrissey and anecdotally from Lee's regular visits to Artsite Contemporary Galleries, much was faded with age.
Lee's works are fundamentally made from scavenged and recycled things, he spoke of gutting discarded televisions for tiny components and finding treasures of abandoned materials on his wanderings around lanes of Camperdown and Newtown...
Lee Passed away in August this year leaving a small and unique legacy of extraordinary artworks exhibited in this exhibition.
*Note: All proceeds to the estate of Lionel (Lee) Pedersen will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Funding Research for Prevention and Cure.