I invited Malaysian-born artist Yee I-Lann to speak at Invisible Hours because her work epitomises our show’s concerns with women’s unseen labour and time deprivation. As a leading artist from Sabah, Yee interrogates colonial and patriarchal power in Southeast Asia.

YEE I-LANN, Tikar Reben, 2021

Tikar/Meja/Plastik: Reweaving Power

In response to these histories, she has shifted towards collaborative craft projects with local women. In her Tikar/Meja/Plastik series, community weavers braid pandan mats (tikars) and recycled plastic into installations that challenge power: the table (meja) symbolises administrative, patriarchal control, whereas the woven mat is “non-hierarchical [and] community-based“. By working “to share the mat” with Bajau and Sama Dilaut weavers, Yee foregrounds traditional female handicrafts within an open collective process, making visible what is usually overlooked. This model physically enacts the inclusive labour we aim to highlight: even domestic craft becomes a medium of collective resistance, and traditional skills are repurposed as political agency.

TIKAR/MEJA

Considerations for workshop instructors

This resonates with feminist research: women perform most unpaid domestic work, often leading to “time poverty”, so its visibility is urgent. Her practice explicitly honours intergenerational skill-sharing and cultural diversity, empowering participants rather than fetishising their craft. Additionally, her hands-on, egalitarian methodology promises the kind of inclusive, educational workshop we envision, reinforcing our pedagogical aims. In selecting Yee I-Lann, I believe I am exercising a critical curatorial judgement: her collective, anti-colonial approach aligns with our intention to amplify hidden labour and voices, exemplifying the inclusive, empowering practice at the heart of Invisible Hours.

Resource:

Yee I-Lann: https://www.silverlensgalleries.com/artists/yee-i-lann#:~:text=A%20collection%20of%2060%20Bajau,game%20of%20rock%2C%20paper%2C%20scissors

Art Wall / Yee I-Lann: TIKAR/MEJA/PLASTIK：https://bampfa.org/program/art-wall-yee-i-lann-tikarmejaplastik#:~:text=Yee%20works%20in%20collaboration%20with,land%20use%20and%20climate%20change

Entangled Tikar: Yee I-Lann and the Politics of Mat-ness：https://artasiapacific.com/shows/entangled-tikar-yee-i-lann-and-the-politics-of-mat-ness

week11: Weaving Invisible Hours with Yee I-Lann / Shumiao Cheng / Curating (2024-2025)[SEM2] by is licensed under a