Me Kyeoung Lee's new paintings of South Korea's disappearing corner shops

She has, in fact, spent the past 20 years documenting these little corner shops, partly because she finds them so beautiful, but also because she wants to capture them before they disappear forever.

"The first spring after I had my second child, I was spending my days sitting in front of the canvas again with a pen, drawing random things that came to mind, searching for a new beginning," Lee recalls. "One beautiful day when cherry blossom petals were falling like snow, I made a trip to the corner store. I hadn’t been there in a long while, and the place seemed unfamiliar and at the same time quaintly charming. The reddish-brown slate roof displayed subtle changes in color depending on the time of day, and even the word ‘beverages’ in red letters written on the window in a slapdash manner seemed stylish."

It was then that Lee decided to start drawing the humble convenience store. And has been doing so ever since. Her latest solo show at the Imazoo Gallery runs until 3 November 2018. Meanwhile, you can discover more of her work at leemk.com.