A Brief Study of Yau Bee Ling
Sample Report
Zhang YiYuan

F21FD0679
General Studies
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore
School of Arts and Design
29 October 2021

 

 

 

 

 

DECLARATION

I, _Zhang YiYuan_ (student of this report) declare the following report 
A Brief Study of Yau Bee Ling has neither in whole or part been 
submitted for a diploma to any other institution. 
Unless indicated, all images without citations are taken by (student of this report).

 

 

 

 

CONTENT PAGE                                         
 

List of Figures………………………......4

1       Introductionto Yau Bee Ling......................................................5
2       Influences of Yau Bee Ling’s art works
i)   Family Series...................................................6
ii)  Alive, and Moving………..………....8
3       Yau Bee Ling ’s Involvement in Art Movements ............................................………......9
4        Conclusion ............................................................10

5         Bibliography ........................................................... 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIST OF FIGURES                                               

Fig 1a: Portrait of Yau bee ling……………………………………… 5
Source:  https://rimbundahan.org/yau-bee-ling/#:~:text=Bio%20Yau%20Bee%20Ling%20was%20born%20in%201972%2C,in%20Kuala%20Lumpur%20since%20she%20graduated%20in%201995. 

Fig 1b: Yau Bee Ling's Family Series Home Dinner II …………………..………………..…… 6
Source: https://weiling-gallery.com/gallery/portfolio-item/therapy-and-paradox-in-yau-bee-lings-painting-by-anurendra-jegadeva/ 

Fig 1c: Yau Bee Ling's Family Series Home Dinner……………................……….. 7
Source: https://weiling-gallery.com/gallery/portfolio-item/therapy-and-paradox-in-yau-bee-lings-painting-by-anurendra-jegadeva/ 

Fig 1d: Yau Bee Ling's Home 

Kitchen...............................................7
Source: https://weiling-gallery.com/gallery/portfolio-item/therapy-and-paradox-in-yau-bee-lings-painting-by-anurendra-jegadeva/

Fig 1e:Yau Bee Ling's Alive, and Moving...............................................8
Source:https://www.optionstheedge.com/topic/culture/interwoven-terrains-reflection-artist-yau-bee-ling’s-life-and-inner-turmoils 

 

 

 

 

1    Introduction to Yau Bee Ling

Yau Bee Ling was born in 1972, Port Klang. She graduated from Malaysian Institute of Art (1992-1995) with award of full scholarship in fine art course (painting). Since then, she has been actively practising and exhibiting in Kuala Lumpur since she graduated in 1995. She was selected by the National Art Gallery to represent Malaysia at the 9th Asian Art Biennal in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1999. In 2000, she was selected by the renowned regional curator T.K. Sabapathy to exhibit at Singapore Sculpture Square. In 2002, her paintings were chosen to exhibit at the 2nd Fukuoka Triennale, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum and her paintings were collected as part of the Fukuoka Museum permanent collection. In 2004, her paintings traveled to Hokkaido Museum of Contemporary Art as part of “Soul of Asia: Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Collection”. In 2005, she was awarded as Rimbun Dahan, Malaysian – Australian Artist-in-Residence programme which was generously supported by Hijjas Kasturi Association/ Rimbun Dahan, Kuala Lumpur.

 

 

Fig 1a: Portrait of Yau Bee Ling

 

 

 

2    Yau bee ling art works

 

i )   Family Series

In the earliest Family Series works, the faces are drawn so as to be     fleshy and child-like in their pristine directness but they also feature a     tense brittleness that is the opposite of naiveté. Her Malaysian context     is expressed within the confines of race, class, tradition, clan personal     family histories.

 

Fig 1b: Yau Bee Ling's Home Dinner II 

 

Fig 1c: Yau Bee Ling's Home Dinner 

 

 

Fig 1d: Yau Bee Ling's Home Kitchen 

 

 

 

ii )  Alive, and Moving

The diptychs are the standouts of the series. As if drawing a line between her past and present, or perhaps the scarring of a tapestry marked by tragedy, they also symbolise the two spaces — physical and mental — that govern a lot of her life. “It seems that I just need two spaces. Me and God, me and myself, me and others — my mum, my husband, my daughter and son. A lot of moments happen between them,” she observes.
While landscape paintings can be healing and refreshing to look at, Yau’s series hides within it a reflection of the human heart, remaining true to her past works. Just as the splashes of paints show her newfound boldness in expressing herself freely, they are also a celebration of a new season in bloom.
She says, “I hope people can relate it to their own terrains. But for me, it’s about making peace with God and with everyone around me” — and most importantly, with herself.

Fig 1e: Alive, and Moving (2019)

 

 

3    Yau bee ling Accomplishments 

One of the most established contemporary artists in Malaysia, Yau Bee Ling was born in 1972 in Port Klang. Her early education in art was at the Malaysian Institute of Art from 1992 to 1995 where she was awarded with a full scholarship to pursue her passion in fine art majoring in painting. From there, she never looked back after she graduated in 1995 where she has been practicing her art and exhibiting her work throughout Malaysia. In 1999, her work was recognized by the National Art Gallery where she represented the country at the 9th Asian Art Biennal in Bangladesh in Dhaka. A year after that, her work was selected for exhibition at the renowned Singapore Sculpture Square by T K Sabapathy a very renowned curator in the region. Her paintings were also showcased at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum during the 2nd Fukuoka Triennale where they eventually became part of the Museum’s permanent collection.

Yau Bee Ling is a renowned contemporary artist whose body of work embodies fine art at its best. Apart from having her work exhibited around the country and overseas, she is also very much known among her peers in the art scene of Malaysia. With a Diploma in Fine Art, her work and technique that encompasses strokes and portraits have received very positive reviews from galleries as well as collectors the world over.

One of the privileged artists to have been selected in the Rimbun Dahan, Malaysian-Australian Artist-in-Residence programme, her portraits were recently showcased in the ‘Portraits of Paradox’ solo show at the Wei-Ling Gallery. She has also been involved with various 18 @ 8 group shows as well as in the New Malaysian Paintings at the Valentine Willie Fine Art gallery in Singapore. Apart from that, she has also has work exhibited in Beijing in China as well as at the renowned Malmo Art Museum in Sweden.

 

 

 

4    Conclusion

 

Life is an art and art is her life, both are intertwined and impossible to divide. Her latest works are also reflective of her vertical existence, which she explains is the spiritual aspect of her life. “Through art and my children, I have found myself. I know my purpose in this open-ended environment. I can accept imperfection and I know it’s okay to not have the answers to everything. I  am at total peace with myself and with my creator.”

 

 

5    Bibliography 

Yau bee ling.Interwoven (Love)，2013,The Artling
https://theartling.com/en/artwork/yau-bee-ling-interwoven-love/