WELCOME TO MY WORLD

HI I'M LEE SOLO AKA SALEM7.

 

FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, I'VE ALWAYS ENJOYED CREATING MY OWN WORLDS AND CHARACTERS. I WOULD DRAW PORTALS IN PLACES LIKE THE BACK OF MY CLOSET, UNDER MY DESK OR BETWEEN THE WOODEN SLATS OF MY BED FRAME. ONCE, I DREW UP AN ELABORATE MAP, THE SIZE OF A FLATTENED REFRIGERATOR BOX, THAT TOLD YOU HOW TO GET "THERE." DESPITE HOW BIG THE MAP WAS, NO ONE KNEW IT EXISTED.

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"THERE" WAS A WORLD FILLED WITH MAGIC AND ADVENTURE. INHABITED BY STRANGE,  MISCHIEVOUS AND COLOURFUL CHARACTERS WHOM I WOULD VICARIOUSLY LIVE THROUGH. I'D FAVOURABLY BECOME A GIRL DRESSED IN PURPLE FROM HEAD TO TOE. SHE FELT EMOTIONS DEEPLY AND HAD SPECIAL POWERS. SHE COULD TURN HER REALITY INTO WHATEVER SHE WANTED. HER NAME WAS SALEM7. 

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AS I GREW, SO DID THE WORLD. I NEVER HAD A NAME FOR IT, BUT I KNEW IT BY HEART. SOMETIMES I WOULD GET CONFUSED AND I WOULDN'T KNOW IF I WAS LEE OR SALEM7. EVENTUALLY, I REALISED, I AM BOTH AND MY WORLD IS SALEM7 TOO.

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SALEM7 BECAME THE LENS THROUGH WHICH I CREATE: ART THAT’S COLOURFUL, ANIMATED, ENCRYPTED WITH SYMBOLS AND SECRETS, FOR THOSE CURIOUS ENOUGH TO LOOK CLOSER. EACH PIECE IS A GLIMPSE INTO THE UNIVERSE I’VE BUILT — A PORTAL. I GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO STEP THROUGH AND BE IMMERSED.

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SALEM7 IS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST WHO EMBRACES FRINGE CULTURES AND EXPERIMENTAL ART FORMS. INSPIRED BY 80S HORROR, PUNK SHOWS, SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS, UNDERGROUND COMICS, AND THE CHAOS OF SUBCULTURES, SALEM7 IS A CREATIVE UNIVERSE AND A SANCTUARY FOR THE FREAKS AND GEEKS. EVERY PIECE, WHETHER IT’S WORN OR DISPLAYED, OFFERS A PORTAL INTO A LIVING, BREATHING WORLD THAT REFLECTS THE ART LEE MAKES AND THE LIFE SHE LIVES. THROUGH THIS, SHE OFFERS YOU SOMETHING OF YOUR OWN. A SYMBOL. A KEY. AN EXTENSION OF SELF.

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I INVITE YOU TO BE A PART OF MY MAGICAL WORLD AND APPRECIATE YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT!

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SALEM7 ACKNOWLEDGES THE YUGAMBEH PEOPLE OF THE GOLD COAST REGION. AS AN INDIGENOUS MAORI, I UNDERSTAND THE DEEP CONNECTION TO LAND AND CULTURE THAT FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE HAVE, AND I WANT TO PAY MY RESPECTS TO THEIR ELDERS PAST, PRESENT, AND EMERGING. IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNISE THE ONGOING STRUGGLES AND RESILIENCE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA AND AROUND THE WORLD.