A brand new exhibition opening in Kuala Lumpur this Saturday will see Sabah-born modern artist Yee I-Lann weaving an formidable and inclusive new chapter for community-minded artwork programmes right here.
Borneo Heart In Kuala Lumpur by Yee I-Lann and Collaborators will see a number of venues within the capital internet hosting actions tied to the exhibition, co-produced by RogueArt. The programmes will run for over five-months with essential exhibitions and satellite tv for pc reveals within the line-up.
First held in Kota Kinabalu in May 2021, Borneo Heart started as an exhibition about discovering methods ahead, presenting works by Yee made in collaboration with weavers, film-makers, dancers, different fellow artistic producers and pals. Borneo Heart activates two ideas: the tikar (woven mat) as a collective platform for community, storytelling and ritual, and the tamu (weekly market) as a gathering place for the change of items, tales and concepts.
For guests, it is best to put together a diary to checklist the highlights. There are many reveals to catch. The exhibition’s programmes within the coming weeks and months will probably be operating at The Zhongshan Building, The Back Room, The Godown Arts Centre, A+ Works of Art, Ilham Gallery and Rumah Lukis.
“Borneo Heart in Kuala Lumpur 2023 finds a brand new form in several websites, incorporating a collection of exhibitions, a programme of workshops and talks, and a tamu for makers, growers, community-builders, problem-solvers and storytellers from Sabah, Sarawak and the Peninsular. It’s a celebration of collaboration, the necessity and need for distinction, and sharing cultural information as we enter the sixtieth 12 months because the formation of Malaysia,” reads a press release from RogueArt.
Installation view of Yee I-Lann’s ‘Tikar/Meja’ exhibition on the ‘Borneo Heart’ present in Kota Kinabalu in 2021. She will probably be launching this vibrant exhibition in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow. Photo: Flanegan Bainon
Yee’s Tikar/Meja exhibition, which is central to the Borneo Heart programme, will probably be held at The Back Room gallery on the Zhongshan Building in Kuala Lumpur from Feb 25 to March 12. It options over 30 mats woven by numerous communities throughout Pulau Omadal and the Sabah mainland.
These works depict tables and permit for an interrogation of its symbolic status, juxtaposed towards the communal nature of the normal tikar (mat).
“Historically, we had no tables in South-East Asia; we sat and met on mats. Tables came in with others – the Malay word meja derives from the Portuguese mesa. The table, to me, represents the violence of patriarchal, colonial administration, which declares, via the census, land survey, school, and museum: ‘I tell you who you are’. The mat remembers feminist, egalitarian communities. Tikar/Meja juxtaposes the power of the table against the power of the mat. A table on a mat is like a stone on paper in a game of rock-paper-scissors, when my open hand encloses your fist. To decolonise is to see the table and to see the mat,” says Yee in a press release.
This exhibition is complemented by a woven mat exhibition at Tommy Le Baker (a restaurant on the Zhongshan Building) and out of doors The Back Room – sure, there will probably be mats on show throughout the constructing. These actions are half of The Zhongshan Building’s Share The Mat! occasion, which contains workshops, exhibitions and enjoyable mini festivities from now until March.
Also occurring this weekend is the Tamu Tanah Dan Air “market” occasion at The Godown Arts Centre on Feb 25 and 26.
This ticketed occasion options organisations, artists, and collectives from Borneo and the Peninsular, which will probably be promoting items, exchanging tales, holding workshops, artwork shows and extra. Here is the place you possibly can meet folks working in community-based tasks, in inexperienced agricultural and hydro applied sciences, proper to studying about art-making, native music and poetry. Not to overlook artisanal produce to take dwelling.
Two British Council grantees, Borneo Bengkel and Borneo Laboratory, will probably be collaborating on this occasion.
There will probably be conversations surrounding the subject of the Tikar Emoji (4m x 5m) an art work by Yee with weaving by Bajau Sama DiLaut weavers in addition to two different tikar works by the artist woven by collaborators from Pulau Omadal and Keningau.
