A sketch, unlike a painting, envelopes a sense of process; a state of in-between. It lies somewhere between definitive and uncertain, between finished and raw; like a journey that is ongoing. For these reasons, a sketch is also a perfect comparison to Mok Yee’s approach in his overall artistic practice. Mok Yee’s past works have seen him interfering materials and objects, separating them from their original functions, wittily combining them together with certain gestures or elements that create a new stimulus in the eyes of the audience. Yet, those new arrangements of ready-mades - from spoons in Forgotten History (2012), to his PVC carpet series (2022) - do not seek to exist as an entirely new matter. The materials remain recognisable, and are only midway in their process of becoming. Once again, this shows the “inbetweenness” in Mok Yee’s works, whereby collective memories embedded within these objects meet the artist’s personal curiosities towards certain themes or subjects.

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Une esquisse céleste (2022), presented as part of the artist’s current residency at Galerie Huit Arles, France, is therefore a meaningful series to the artist, as he temporarily drifts away from his usual method of “making”, and adopt a more straightforward approach that is sketching. The presentation combines two distinct explorations of sketches, both which are deeply personal. 

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The first, a series of charcoal on paper made during his residency at Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia, is a result of remembering and self-releasing through body movements. Spending time in the lush gardens of the residency place, he was seduced by several shapes in the landscape including the roundness of fruits, the curves of tree branches, amongst other forms, . Distancing his approach from ‘live drawing’ however, he immersed into this natural environment without a single tool in his hand. The only thing he held onto was his own memory, which he then brought back into his studio to begin sketching. In such an approach, resemblance becomes insignificant, and that creates a room for imagination. The artist chose to let go of preconceptions surrounding how the body should be when creating, and instead, took the liberty to move freely. He admitted that this experience mirrored the sensation of doing a performance, and evoked the link that he has been looking for between his two artistic practices; that of a visual artist, and that of a professional drummer. 

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These abstract compositions come in interesting play with the second series of sketches etched on stainless steel and aluminum plates. Unlike the charcoal sketches on paper, here, Mok Yee’s autonomy is instead challenged by the limits that this medium established to his gesture. The artist describes the process as precise, careful, and full of struggles. It is nonetheless his personal battle against the medium that becomes his bridge to connect with the object; a relationship that is difficult yet so intimate, and forces him to count on himself. On the surfaces of these plates are conveyed several realities that the artist refuses to forget, from past moments to emotions, permanently leaving a mark. Analogous to how memories are carried around in our heads, these plates too, have been transported from one ‘home’ to another (the artist has brought it from Kuala Lumpur to Arles), and might continue to travel. 

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At this point of encounter - between a banal object and an artist’s imagination - Mok Yee’s works reach a “celestial” state, which he amplifies through other elements that complete the display. Romantic, the exhibit transports viewers to natural places. Firstly, through a video showing repetitive movements of waters near a shore, and then a vertical photoprint of a tree. If recollections were to evolve into aesthetic forms, this installation would be a perfect example. 

Amanda Ariawan, 2022

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Lee Mok Yee is the 2022 laureat of Arles-Penang Exchange Residency.

The Residency is a formal partnership between the Penang State Government (Chief Minister of Penang Incorporated ), the Embassy of France in Malaysia and Galerie Huit Arles in France.  

Supported by the Institut francais, and in collaboration with the Alliance Francaise de Penang, the Penang State Museum and Art Gallery, and Hikayat

 

For more information about the artist and Rimbun Dahan, please visit:
www.leemokyee.com
http://rimbundahan.org/