Mansau-Ansau in Dusun – the language of the Dusun and Kadazan of Sabah – means to walk without a predetermined destination. It evokes a wandering path that welcomes chance and possibilities. Translated into a weave, it manifests as a pattern without pattern, a pattern that follows its own rhythm. The exhibition Mansau-Ansau attends to Yee I-Lann’s journey of discovery and creation over two decades, navigating domains of knowledge old and new, and reimagining the forms and dynamics of power. Travel across a range of media, from photocollage, silk and batik, to bamboo pus and pandanus, to encounter a horizon that teases, where the kerbau stand their ground and mats ‘eat’ tables, to experience karaoke beyond language and meet the turtles as they return home.
about the artist
Yee I-Lann (b. 1971, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia; lives and works in Kota Kinabalu) is a leading contemporary artist recognized for her predominantly photomedia-based practice. With acuity and wit, her digital photo collages delve into the evolving intersection of power, colonialism, and neo-colonialism in Southeast Asia, shedding light on the influence of historical memory in social experiences. Often centering on counter-narratives or ‘histories from below,’ she has recently begun collaborative work with sea-based and land-based communities, as well as indigenous mediums in Sabah, Malaysia.
Yee has exhibited widely in museums in Asia, Europe, Australia, and the United States, with notable retrospectives including Fluid World, a 2011 survey of her major works at Adelaide’s Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia; and Yee I-Lann: 2005-2016 in 2016 at the Ayala Museum in Manila, the Philippines. Selected recent solo exhibitions include: ZIGAZIG ah!, Silverlens, Manila, Philippines (2019); Yee I-Lann & Collaborators: Borneo Heart, Sabah International Convention Centre, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (2021) and Yee I-Lann: Until We Hug Again, CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts & Textile), Hong Kong (2021), and At the Roof of the Mouth, Silverlens New York (2022). In 2023, she worked with RogueArt and six spaces in the city to mount the project Borneo Heart in Kuala Lumpur, with support from Silverlens.
Among her selected group exhibitions are the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia (1999, 2021); Jakarta Biennale, Jakarta, Indonesia (2015); Yinchuan Biennale, Yinchuan, China (2016); SUNSHOWER: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia 1980s to Now, The National Art Center and Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan (2017); Asian Art Biennial, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung City, Taiwan (2019); STILL ALIVE: Aichi Triennale, Aichi, Japan (2022); the 17th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey (2022); Soft and Weak Like Water: The 14th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea (2023); NGV Triennial, Victoria, Australia (2023); and The Spirits of Maritime Crossing, Venice, Italy (2024).
Banner image: Yee I-Lann, Measuring Project: Chapter Seven, 2022. Digital inkjet pigment print (Giclée) on Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper. Courtesy of Silverlens (Manila/New York)
With support from:
With special thanks:
related programmes
GUIDED TOUR
Join us on a guided tour and and discover insights into selected artworks from the exhibition.
• Docent-Led Tour:
- Japanese Tour: Every Thu–Sat | 10:30am–11:30am*
*(no Japanese tours between 28 Dec to 3 Jan)
- English Tour: Every Thu–Sun | 2pm–3pm
*(Meeting Point: Level 1, Near the ticketing reception)
• Access Tour with SgSL:
With SAM curator June Yap and artist Yee I-Lann: Sat, 7 Dec | 2pm–3pm
*Meeting Point: Level 1, Gallery 1
Watch this space for more exhibition-related programmes!
Please present valid proof of identity (e.g. Student Pass) at SAM's ticketing counter to enjoy free admission.
SGD 10
Concession1
Overseas student/teacher
Senior (60 years and above)
Full-Time National Servicemen (NSFs) excluding foreign personnel
SGD 5
Children 6 years and below
Local/locally-based students/teachers
Person with disabilities (PWD) and accompanying caregiver2
Free.
Not required to purchase a ticket.
Please present valid proof of identity (e.g. Student Pass) at SAM's ticketing counter to enjoy free admission.
All ticket prices are inclusive of booking fees 1Valid proof of identity (e.g., passport, school pass) must be presented at the ticketing counter to enjoy concession admission. 2One caregiver accompanying visitors with disabilities will enjoy free admission, regardless of the caregiver's nationality.
Explore the textured aesthetics of Sabah-born artist Yee I-Lann, renowned for her versatile practice featuring photomedia, batik, weaving and video, in a publication that complements the exhibition Yee I-Lann: Mansau-Ansau at Singapore Art Museum. The exhibition presents works by the artist across two decades charting her engagement with topics such as colonial critique, politics and power, and their alternatives in egalitarian forms, language and economies.
This publication provides a reflexive and interwoven reading of the concepts and philosophies in Yee’s practice through regional and international writers, curators and critics.
Retail price: 40 SGD (inclusive of GST)
Details: Softcover, 154pp
ISBN number: 978-981-94-1139-9
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