I-Lann Yee: ‘Budi’s Song’
I-Lann Yee, Budi’s Song, 2023. Single-channel video, stereo sound, 12 min 37 sec. All rights reserved by the artist
About the Work
Kak Budi is a Bajau Sama Dilaut weaver and matriarch living on Omadal Island in Malaysia. Born on a lepa houseboat, she carried and raised her 11 children. She dedicates herself to weaving, incorporating vibrant colours, and preparing pandanus leaves. In the film, we see Budi create the Tepo Putih Ikan Masin, a large woven piece crafted from old fish-drying mats and beach flotsam, symbolizing environmental challenges and cultural heritage. This process and Budi’s improvized song, heard in the work, encapsulate her community’s powerful connection to the sea.
About the Artist
I-Lann Yee (b. 1971; based in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia) is an 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 focusing 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 her homeland Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Her recent solo exhibitions include ‘Yee I-Lann: Tikar / Mejar / Plastik’, BAMPFA Museum, Berkeley (2024); ‘Yee I-Lann & Collaborators’, Borneo Heart in Kuala Lumpur (2023); ‘At the Roof of the Mouth’, Silverlens New York (2022) and ‘Yee I-Lann: Until We Hug Again’, CHAT Hong Kong (2021).
About EMAP x FRIEZE FILM SEOUL
For the third year in a row, Frieze Film returns to Frieze Seoul 2024. This year’s programme is presented in partnership with Ewha Media Art Presentation (EMAP) and on view from 2 – 6 September at Ewha Womans University and online at frieze.com.
Curated by Joowon Park and Valentine Umansky, this year’s programme is titled ‘All that Weaves the Universe: Of Quantum Entanglements’. It brings together time-based media works of 37 international artists, unfolding across eight chapters.
