Yee I-Lann’s project Tikar/Meja (Mat/Table) involves a collaboration with Bajau Laut weavers from Sabah, Malaysia, producing 60 woven mats, each featuring an image of a table. The table for I-Lann symbolises various forms of administrative power and control. The project serves as a powerful message from the people on the mat to those in positions of authority, highlighting the hierarchical nature of the tables in contrast to the communal and non-hierarchical nature of the mats.
In Melbourne for Triennial EXTRA, Yee I-Lann shares with audiences the process of making the work, and the message she hopes to convey to visitors, in conversation with NGV Curatorial Project Officer Sunita Lewis.
Yee I-Lann lives and works in Kota Kinabalu. Her work explores the shifting nexus of power, colonialism, and neo-colonialism in Southeast Asia, and the impact of historic memory in social experience, including working collaboratively with sea-based and land-based communities in Sabah, Malaysia. She has exhibited in international exhibitions including the Yinchuan Biennale (2016); The Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (2015 and 1999); Jakarta Biennale (2015); Singapore Biennale (2013 and 2006); and Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale (2009). Her exhibition Yee I-Lann: 2005-2016 was held at the Ayala Museum, Manila.