Yee I-Lann's first major European exhibition explores colonialism and indigenous heritage, marking significant cultural exchange.
"I was impressed by her independent, multidisciplinary, and multi-layered style of expression and her respectful attitude toward the local communities with which she works."
"Mansau Ansau"
History is being made in the Bernese Oberland. On August 23, the Kunstmuseum Thun shatters European artistic boundaries by launching the first major European exhibition of Malaysian powerhouse Yee I-Lann. This is not merely an art show; it is a critical geopolitical intervention in the heart of Switzerland. Helen Hirsch, the museum's visionary director, championed this move after witnessing Yee's undeniable force at Art Basel's 'Unlimited' sector in 2022.
Hirsch describes the artist’s work as possessing an "independent, multidisciplinary, and multi-layered style of expression" that demands attention. By securing this debut, Thun positions itself not just as a scenic backdrop, but as a fearless contender in the global contemporary art dialogue. The exhibition, running through November, promises to bring a raw, unfiltered perspective from Southeast Asia directly to the Swiss public, challenging the status quo of the European museum circuit.
Yee I-Lann does not whisper; she interrogates history with unflinching precision. The exhibition, titled Mansau Ansau, dives headfirst into the murky waters of colonialism and the resilience of indigenous heritage. The title itself—an indigenous phrase meaning "keep going without a clear goal in mind"—frames the experience not as a passive viewing, but as a courageous journey into the unknown.
While the concept of an aimless journey might evoke fear, Yee reframes it as a radical opportunity for discovery. Her work relentlessly questions the complex geopolitical history of Southeast Asia, refusing to let the past remain buried. Through photography, video works, and sculpture, she exposes the mechanics of oppression and the strategies for collective reorganization. This is art that functions as a weapon against amnesia, forcing a dialogue on how history is remembered, reconstructed, and often distorted by power.
At the physical and conceptual center of this exhibition lies a staggering feat of craftsmanship: a massive mat woven from bamboo. This is far more than a textile; it is a political manifesto. For Yee I-Lann, this woven surface symbolizes a "platform for the local, democratic, feminist, and social equality." It dismantles the hierarchy of the museum space, inviting intimacy and communal gathering.
The artist’s production process is as significant as the final object. She collaborates closely with a collective of weavers from her homeland, transforming traditional craftsmanship into a vehicle for visibility. By elevating these indigenous techniques to the walls of a European institution, Yee makes oppression—and the resilience against it—tangible. The mat serves as a literal and metaphorical ground where social hierarchies are flattened, and new, equitable futures are imagined.
This arrival in Thun is no random geopolitical accident; a spectral thread connects Borneo to the Swiss Alps. Yee I-Lann reveals a profound personal link to the region: her great-uncle, a mountaineer at the turn of the century, rests eternally in a Zermatt cemetery. This ancestral connection charges the exhibition with a unique emotional resonance.
Yee emphasizes that she discovers "similar forms and similar power" in the landscapes of Thun as she does in her Malaysian homeland. It is a meeting of peaks and valleys, of distinct cultures finding common ground in the topography of the earth and the memory of the dead. As the doors open on August 23, visitors are invited to witness this powerful convergence of personal lineage and global history. The exhibition stands as a testament that even across vast distances, the human struggle for identity and orientation remains universal.