In this biennale, Juliana Yasin, Karee Dahl, and Rosemary Lakerink exhibit their collaborative work, titled "Covered, Veiled, Bound." It can be said that the work is a compilation of the works of the three artists. In other words, the work is abounding with personal characters of each of the three artists. Yasin and Dahl display their video arts, while Lakerink is present with her knitting work. The whole work, however, is still a collaborative work, as can be seen in its layered meanings. The audience can appreciate the works by reading the personal layer of each of the artist, but they can also read the work as a whole, or as a coherent textual configuration. The three artists are actually revealing similar issues, namely the issues on gender.

Yasin's performance arts are often closely related with her background as a Chinese-Malay Moslem woman. Such background creates many problems and dilemmas, especially with her profession as a contemporary artist. On the other hand, this background, and naturally her awareness about it, serves as a rich pasture that provides ample themes and problems for her works—especially her performance arts. One example was her controversial performance art, "The Veil", that had resulted in many protests from the Moslem community in Singapore. The performance openly criticized the 'rule' compelling Moslem women to cover themselves. For Yasin, this rule has more to do with the culture rather than with the religion itself—and in this case, it is about the cultural problem that marginalizes women.

Karee Dahl's work also tells of gender problems. The metaphors she uses here are interesting, as she questions the 'manly' characters of modern visual arts—especially the sculptures made of rigid and 'macho' materials such as metals. Her video art displays dolls and structures made of threads, resulting in 'soft' forms that make a kind of soft sculptures. The images that result—those of teddy bears among others—make Dahl's work appear satirical and playful, making fun of the seriousness of modern sculptures.

Using modes of thoughts similar to Dahl's, Lakerink appears with her knit-works, producing patterns that create text and images. The crafty and feminine nature of the works appear naturally as a subversion to modernist works derived from the high art. Lakerink's works are indeed intended as an antithesis for modernist works. Just like Yasin with her Moslem background that provides her with myriad questions and matters, Lakerink's background as a textile artist—in particular with her knitting techniques—has given her rich experiences of being 'marginalized' by mainstream arts.

The spirit to rebel has apparently provided the three artists with ample fuel to work and collaborate. However, they may no longer be marginal artists now, but instead are a part of the mainstream. But what is wrong with that, then? Today there is no single mainstream anyway—there are rather myriad mainstreams.

Asmudjo Jono Irianto

Born on November 27, 1970 in Singapore.
Studied at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA Australia (BFA; 1996).

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1999 "COLLABORATIONS", Plastique Kinetic Worms, Singapore, solo exhibition that collaborated 15 artists.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2000 "First Come, First Served", Project 304, Bangkok, Thailand; Buntus 2000, International Artists Collective Exhibition, Dublin, Ireland.
2001 "Parallelworld", Phase 2 "BODY", Plastique Kinetic Worms, Singapore; "Stitch..., Nokia Singapore Art 01, Sculpture Square, Singapore.
2002 Flag Project, PKW's 4th Annual Show in conjunction with the Gwangju Biennial, Plastique Kinetic Worms, Singapore; "Nothing to Declare" - Big Small Island, in celebration of the Australian Centenary of Federation, Australian High Commission, Singapore.
2003 "Alterity is an activity - Series of activitie's, Art Throb ; Esplanade's New Year's event at the Esplanade, Theatres by the bay, Singapore; "Cinta", A.P.A.D's 1st Women Group Exhibition at MITA Building, Singapore.

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