Yee I-Lann was born in 1971 in Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian Borneo state of Sabah. I-Lann is an image-maker working primarily with photomedia-based techniques. Her work examines the history of Southeast Asia addressing notions of power, colonialism and neocolonialism, and the impact of historic memory in social experience, often with a particular focus on counter-narrative “histories from below”. She uses a multi-layered visual vocabulary borrowed from archives, historical references, popular culture, and everyday objects.
In recent years, I-Lann has started working in collaboration with sea-based and land-based indigenous communities in Sabah. She is a co-founding associate of The Ricecooker Archives: Southeast Asian Rock ‘n’ Roll Treasury with her partner Joe Kidd and has worked as a production designer in the Malaysian film industry. She is currently a Board member for Forever Sabah and Tamparuli Living Arts Center (TaLAC), both based in Sabah.
