Kota Kinabalu based artist, Yee I-Lann recalls sitting on her grandmother's tikar (woven mat) as a child. Years later that memory, along with beliefs on community and power, birthed the project Borneo Heart, an art installation exhibition now on-going at the Sabah International Convention Center (SICC) until the end of May 2021. 

Borneo Heart was curated in collaboration with local weavers, filmmakers, dancers and other creative talents to showcase two concepts; the tikar as space for communities to share stories and rituals and the tamu (market) as a meeting place for trading goods.

“The tikar invites people to come and sit. It is a democratic, egalitarian, communal as well as personal space. The tamu, our traditional weekly market in Sabah, is where the people of the hills, plains, rivers and the sea meet to exchange rice for salt, woven cloth for woven ratan. It forms the foundation of our socio-political landscape. It is a celebration of the other, and diversity.” Yee I-Lann told Breeze Magazine. 

Yee I-Lann will be conducting tours every Wednesday at 2pm and Saturday & Sunday at 11am (limited to 20 pax). Join the tours for a chance to meet the artist and get first-hand insight into the meanings behind the artwork. The exhibition is also open to the public daily from 11am to 5:30pm. 

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