CHAT Meets is an ongoing series of talks inviting curators, artists and academics to contextualise works on view from multiple perspectives. The inaugural instalment examines the creative contexts and diverse practices of artist Yee I-Lann.

The first half of the series invites local and international scholars discuss the creative contexts of Yee I-Lann by situating Sabah within global modern history, examining the exchanges between Malaysia and Hong Kong, and delving into the art of resist-dyed batik  textiles.

The second half of the series invites researchers, curators and a local photo studio owner to delve deep into the practices and works of Yee. Particular emphasis will be placed on Yee’s methods of production, including artmaking as means of social engagement and critical uses of found images.

The talk series take places during the exhibition Yee I-Lann: Until We Hug Again  (01.09-07.11.2021). For more information on each individual talk, please refer to the list below.

Locating Sabah in Global History
08.09.2021 (Wednesday), 5:30pm (Hong Kong, UTC+8)
Language: English with simultaneous interpretation into Cantonese
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Hong Kong-based historian Dr David R. Saunders presents a broad history of Sabah from its precolonial past to its postcolonial present. Topics of discussion include Sabah’s relationship with its predecessor state ‘North Borneo’, Western imperialist influences, state creation, Malaysianisation and the ongoing commercialisation of Sabah’s natural environment. The session will conclude with a Q&A session.

Hong Kong and Malaysia: A Poetics of Relation
09.09.2021 (Thursday), 5:30pm (Hong Kong, UTC+8)
Language: English with simultaneous interpretation into Cantonese
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Hong Kong-based scholar and poet Nicholas Y. H. Wong shares the significance behind the historical exchanges between Hong Kong and various regions of Malaysia in literature, culture and economy. Case studies from writers such as Liu Yichang, Eileen Chang, Xi Xi and others will serve to reveal broader topics, including the languages of ports and sea-bound cultures, market exchanges, education systems and colonial administration. The session will conclude with a Q&A session.

Batik Malaysia: A Living Heritage
15.09.2021 (Wednesday), 5:30pm (Hong Kong, UTC+8)
Language: English with Simultaneous Interpretation to Cantonese
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Janet Tee, Secretary of ICOM Malaysia & Former Director of National Textile Museum in Kuala Lumpur, presents the techniques and cultural significance of batik , a wax-resist dyed textile. Narrating through objects in the Collection of the National Textile Museum Kuala Lumpur, Tee will relate the art of batik  to the labour of women and power structures in order to comment on the subversive use of batik  by artist Yee I-Lann.

Activating the Tikar: Reimagining Politics and Economics
16.09.2021 (Thursday), 5:30pm (Hong Kong, UTC+8)
Language: English
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Beverly Yong, Director of RogueArt in Kuala Lumpur, examines how ideas and effects are brought together in the socially engaged practices of Yee I-Lann. Using the tikar  mat as an example, Yong will demonstrate how Yee’s collaborative methodologies have resulted in the empowerment of women and communities, elevation and ownership of local cultural heritage, as well as positive economic and environmental impacts. The session will be concluded with a Q&A session.

Sezaman/Contemporaneity: Tikar in the Expanded Field
23.09.2021 (Thursday), 5:30pm (Hong Kong, UTC+8)
Language: English
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Dr Simon Soon, Senior Lecturer at the University of Malaya, situates the work of Yee I-Lann within the contemporary arts context of Malaysia. Soon will first introduce the art and cultural movement in 1970s Malaysia when cultural thinkers sought to reinterpret the definition of art. From this context, Soon will respond to specific works by Yee that challenge or contribute to our understanding of contemporaneity in non-Euromerican art worlds. The session will be concluded with a Q&A session.

Portraying Hong Kong: Old-Style Photo Studios
02.10.2021 (Saturday), 4:00pm (Hong Kong, UTC+8)
Language: Cantonese with simultaneous interpretation into English
Click here to attend in-person or here to register for Zoom live feed

Lam Kwok Shing, owner of Sammy Photo Studio, shares on the culture, history and significance of old-style photo studios in Hong Kong through personal anecdotes and an interactive show-and-tell of objects from the studio. The session will include Lam’s interpretation of Yee I-Lann’s works on view that repurposes portraitures found in a similar old-style photo studio in Malaysia.

The talk will be conducted in Cantonese with simultaneous interpretation into English. Audience is welcomed to join the talk physically at CHAT or by Zoom.