“Borneo Heart” was Yee I-Lann’s first solo exhibition in her in her hometown of Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah. Held at Sabah International Convention Centre from 2 to 31 May 2021, the show was made in collaboration with weavers, filmmakers, dancers, other fellow creative producers and friends. Since 2018, Yee I-Lann has been collaborating with DusunMurut weavers in the Keningau interior and with Bajau Sama Dilaut weavers from Pulau Omadal, Semporna to make tikar, a traditional woven mat. Through her work bringing the different communities together, Yee has developed a unique language of making, connecting the weavers’ skills, knowledge and stories together with Yee’s ideas and propositions. Yee has said of the exhibition: “This body of work claims and celebrates communities and their geographies, often at the peripheries, that give shape to the center.” The exhibition celebrates love and community, tradition, diversity and collaboration.
