Yee I-Lann

(Another edition from the same series was exhibited at the following)

Kuala Lumpur, Goethe-Insitut, ARTCONNEXIONS: SYD-MLA-KUL, 2005, exh. cat., p. 40-41, illustrated in colour (another edition)

Berlin; Stuggart, ifa Gallery; Melbourne, Goethe-Institut, artconneXions, June 9 - October 29, 2006 (another edition)

Singapore, The City Hall, BELIEF: 1st Singapore Biennale 2006, Septmber 1 - November 12, 2006, exh. cat. (another edition)

Karlsruhe, ZKM I Museum of Contemporary Art, Thermocline of Art: New Asian Waves, June 15 - November 4, 2007, exh cat., illustrated. (another edition)

Milan, Primo Marella Gallery, POST-TSUNAMI ART: Emerging Artists from South-East Asia, February 11 - April 5, 2009, exh. cat., p. 11, illustrated in colour (another edition)

Sydney, UTS: Gallery, Littoral Drift, 2 June - 3 July, 2009 (another edition)

Singapore, Singapore Art Museum, Negotiating Home, History and Nation, Two Decades of Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia, 1991  2011, March 12 -June 26, exh. cat. (another edition)

Beverly Yong and Adeline Ooi, eds., Yee I-Lann: Fluid World, Kuala Lumpur, 2010, p. 96, illustrated in colour (another edition)

This work is in good condition, as is the paper. The sheet is clear of ostensible problems associated with paper as a medium, such as tears, holes and foxing. Framed, with Plexiglas.
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"With "Sulu Stories", each picture is a beginning point. By exploring the past we fabricate our understanding of the present. Sabah and the Sulu zone is an archipelago. The horizon is dominant. Borders are watery. Coastlines such as the Bahala Cliffs in Sandakan seen in 'The Archipelago', or Mount Tumatangis in 'Awn Hambuuk Sultan' have for millennia been physical markers for its peoples and traders. I have always been aware of Sulu as an intrinsic part of Sabah history. I am also attracted to the region's history as the sovereignty of Sabah (complicated by British colonial rule), which is currently under contention at The Hague and was a major part of the Konfrontasi with Indonesia and the Philippines in the 60s."

YEE I-LANN, ARTIST'S STATEMENT, 2006

Art is at its most powerful when it marks the era that we live in. Photography and new art, by the nature of their medium, represents the current generation: ever-changing, ever-growing, continuously accelerating. Urban environments and culture grow with a rapidity that is only rivaled by technological advancement and it is this theme that the present collection of cutting-edge eleven works brings forth. They vary in form and appearance, but the themes they discuss are those most integrated with current contemporary life. They may evoke personal contemplation and evolution - Who are we? How should we live? What is our destiny? – as exemplified by works by Ay Tjoe Christine, Agan Harahap, Yee I-Lann and Neal Oshima. They may question the urban lifestyle, fluctuating between a world that is both real and unreal, such as works by Indra Leonardi, Jason Tablante, Wawi Navarroza and Yason Banal. They may express playfulness and humour, as seen in pieces by Tromarama, Erwin Windu Pranata and Angki Purbandono. Essentially, however, these works ultimately narrate the journey of human existence.

A dreamy and majestic seascape dominates Yee I-Lann's Sulu Stories: Archipelago (Lot 263), from the acclaimed Sulu Stories Series. Yee I-Lann magically enthralls with a pictorial narrative of history, genealogy, cultural legacy and geography. The past and future is linked most emphatically by the longing to be connected. In the artist's statement, I-Lann described that "each picture is a beginning point. By exploring the past we fabricate our understanding of the present. Sabah and the Sulu zone is an archipelago. The horizon is dominant. Borders are watery. Coastlines such as the Bahala Cliffs in Sandakan seen in 'The Archipelago', or Mount Tumatangis in 'Awn Hambuuk Sultan' have for millennia been physical markers for its peoples and traders. I have always been aware of Sulu as an intrinsic part of Sabah history." Another artist deriving inspiration from the water is Filipino photographer Neal Oshima who creates renditions of rivers and reflections that are merged together to form Rorschach-like images called the Riverrun series (Lot 262). With a stretch of the imagination, the shadows on the water appear like silhouettes of figures or imprints of the body and limbs. This transformation from nature to abstraction to figuration heralds a new era in photography and signifies the unlimited possibilities this medium has to offer.

Like the episodes from daily life, these little vignettes speak of hope, fear, desire, relationships, humour, goodness, and the quest for life's meaning. Tracey Emin once said, "There should be something revelatory about art. It should be totally new and creative, and it should open doors for new thoughts and new experiences." These works possess the power of storytelling and their form enables them to do so in the most extraordinary way. They reveal what is hidden, obscure what is shown and feel through absence. And as they provoke, inspire, caution and delight, they reveal something about the creator, the viewer, and if the timing is right, the life we are living.