80 KEN-TSAI LEE DESIGN STUDIO
When Ken-Tsai Lee moved from his home country of Taiwan to the hustle and bustle of New York, he began to see things from a new perspective. He knew that this fresh outlook would eventually help him expand his horizons as a designer and succeed in what he affectionately refers to as the city’s “rat race.”

During his two years at a language school in New York, Lee experienced a diversity of viewpoints through conversations with friends from all over the world. In one dialogue, the topic turned to politics and in particular the war in Iraq. Opinions ranged from regarding the American presence in Iraq as a nosy busybody who meddles in another family’s affairs to understanding why President Bush would step in and attempt to secure peace in the region. Through this exchange, Lee knew he had found a way of characterizing the debate. In a powerful graphic that superimposes the United States flag onto the Iraqi flag, Lee proposes that the answer is all in one’s point of view. An eloquent image meditating on the American presence in Iraq, Lee’s graphic clearly symbolizes prison—or, from a different angle, protection. by Jennifer S. Li