Tikar/Meja
2019-2020

• YEE I-Lann

Yee I-Lann has collaborated with communities from the Malaysian state of Sabah in northern Borneo to make tikar – woven mats. These works are woven by the historically nomadic and sea-dwelling Bajau Sama Dilaut people, some of whom now reside in stilt huts over water off the coast of Omadal Island. The weavers are mostly women, the traditional makers and knowledge holders of the tikar.

The power of the tikar is demonstrated by Tikar/Meja (mat/table), a collection of sixty mats, upon each of which has been woven an image of a table. The table signifies administrative power and control – colonial, patriarchal, federal and state. Tables are the opposite of the non-hierarchical, woman-made and community-based open platform of the tikar. Tikar/Meja depicts the table within the confines of the mat – in rolling up the mat, the table is engulfed.

The tikar enables conversation, connection and the preservation of cultural heritage – both tangible and intangible. While the past may hold lingering pain, these weaving traditions, local knowledge and community can also heal.