Nikki S. Lee gained international recognition with her immersion photography in which she examined issues of identity by engaging with different cultures. Her first collection, “Projects,” is a compilation of work that began in graduate school. With white borders and a date/time stamp, the photos appear to be candid snapshots with Nikki unwittingly caught interacting with various subgroups. The 36-year-old New Yorker’s second venture, “Parts,” again explored identity, this time through staged portraits in which her counterparts are cropped out. In January, “A.K.A. Nikki S. Lee,” a mockumentary/documentary, made its West Coast premiere and featured the conceptual artist once more investigating identity, how it is perceived from the inside and outside, and asking the question of what is real.

I was born in Geochang, but I grew up in Seoul until I was 10 years old and then I moved back to the town again for nine years. It’s just a small town with mountains. That was the most fun time in my life I think. There was only one theater so we would go to the theater, go to a restaurant and have ramen or something or just talk to friends all night or watch a TV drama together. Really small things feel like big things when you grow up in a small town. Most of the time I had to study, you know, the Korean education. From the outside it was isolating in terms of cultural experiences, but from the inside it wasn’t. When I finished high school I went to Seoul again to attend the university.

My father had a wedding business but is now retired. My mother has been a housewife all her life. I have a sister in Utah and a brother and sister in Seoul. I’m the oldest. Usually the oldest child in Korean culture has a huge responsibility, but my parents never put that on me. My parents treat me like I’m an only child. That’s why I could be an artist. My parents are very cool.

I didn’t know I was going to do art. I was interested in becoming a yuppie, like having a really fast car and nice apartment. I knew that I had an artistic side, but I was kind of avoiding becoming an artist because I didn’t want to live life poor and suffering. In Korea, the artist’s life is just like death. I had wanted to be an actress a long time ago, but when I was 20, I was looking in the mirror and thought I’m not pretty enough to be an actress so I gave up. I’m very objective of myself.

I really liked Seoul a lot. A lot of people feel the culture is frustrating and they want to have freedom, but I never felt that way in Korea. I had fun, I had a lot of friends. I didn’t care what people thought about me so I could do whatever I wanted. But after I graduated college I felt lost, like I have to get married — I didn’t know what to do so I was like, oh maybe I can go to New York. I thought maybe I can stay there for two or three years. If I’m a success there, great, but if I’m not I’ll probably come back. My family was middle class and had money to send me there and support me through graduate school.