Voyiazis – Yee I-Lann

I-Lann, Yee. Tabled. Silverlens, 2013. https://www.silverlensgalleries.com/exhibitions/2014-08-01/tabled

In Yee I-Lann’s exhibition at silverlens, we see many pieces that all relate to the common attribute of social rethinking. I-Lann credits herself as a photographer with the cause of comparing past ideologies and conceptions about civilians with the manner in which people are viewed in modern times. One of her pieces that exhibits this the most is her Tabled collection from 2013 in which she is trying to bridge the gap between historically exotic and luxurious goods in the form of blue and white china plates by printing images of ordinary people from Malaysia and Indonesia. This fusion between antiquity and modernity is quite interesting because, as their name suggests, China pottery is meant as a symbolic piece to the elite in China and Yee is somewhat blurring the lines between this luxurious aesthetic by putting relatively random photos of commoners on them, rather than intricate linework. This also brings up the motive of everyone’s right to food (represented by the plate).