Silverlens is proud to present three important and deeply collected artists from Southeast Asia in the inaugural Frieze Seoul: Yee I-Lann (1971, Kota Kinabalu), Patricia Perez Eustaquio (1977, Cebu/Baguio), and Pow Martinez (1983, Manila). The Philippines and Borneo sit squarely between the jungle and the sea. The artists are presenting works that talk about this rich ecosystem of cultural pollination.

Yee I-Lann: Excerpts from Tikar/Meja

At Frieze Seoul, Yee I-Lann is presenting individual pieces from her acclaimed series, Tikar/Meja —a collection of Bajau Sama DiLaut mats on which tables have been woven — that have been shown previously in museum exhibitions in Kota Kinabalu (SICC, 2021), Seoul (MMCA, 2021), and Hong Kong (CHAT, 2021).

The mats will be installed in a loose grid, 3 pieces high by 3 pieces wide, on the central wall. The table represents administrative power and control — colonial, patriarchal, federal, and state power. They are the antithesis of the non-hierarchical, community-based, open platform of the tikar. Tikar/Meja forms a message from the people on the mat directed to the people at the table. The table can be rolled up, essentially “eaten” by the mat. Like a game of rock-paper-scissors, the paper-like object (the mat) actually has more power than the object that is typically seen as being stronger (the table).

“Traditionally in the Southeast Asia region, all communities sat on mats on the ground; had a tradition of making mats. The tikar, or mat, for me, is intrinsically feminist, representing a communal, egalitarian power that comes from old knowledges, heritage, and culture,” says Yee I-Lann.

Patricia Perez Eustaquio: History is a Jungle

At Frieze Seoul, Patricia Perez Eustaquio will be presenting her show, History is a Jungle, featuring a collection of spears made of foliage exhibited alongside the tapestry An Unraveling (Conversation Among Ruins, After Francisco). This exhibition, described by Perez Eustaquio as a tangle of drawing, painting, tapestry, and objects, is an exploration of things and our relationship to them. According to the artist, we exist in an empire of things. Historically, the desire to obtain things has dominated our pursuits and has led humans to travel all across the world in search of obtaining more objects. But this quest is not without consequence. In the case of Philippine colonial history, this dominance led to, for example, the destruction of natural resources such as cutting down hardwood forests to create galleons for the Manila-Acapulco trade route. In her works, Perez Eustaquio aims to tease apart the questions that arise from the complex histories of objects and their creation. 

Perez Eustaquio's work which she describes as a "jungle of odds and ends" questions established notions of art and history vis-a-vis the colonial history of the Philippines through the pictorial and material narratives of the tapestry and objects.

“I have always found it more interesting to smash together different forms and flavors of art, to see what kind of statements and equations such juxtapositions would spawn,” says Patricia Perez Eustaquio.

Pow Martinez

At Frieze Seoul, Pow Martinez is showing new paintings that blend the mundanities of his everyday studio life on the banks of the notorious-for-flooding Marikina River with elements of pop culture. From films to music to famous imagery in art history, Martinez uses sights and sounds that resonate with him as starting points for his paintings. Just like his previous works, Martinez paints the world as he sees it, creating wildly expressionist visual treats. He continues to explore societal roles and consumption in contemporary culture. At Frieze Seoul, the artist shows paintings that poke fun at the exoticization of tribal cultures, usually by the “West.” Martinez explores primitivism alongside imagined tribal roles and their consumption in contemporary culture with a tongue-in-cheek, satirical edge.

Contemporary artists Frank Callaghan, Chati Coronel, Gregory Halili, and Gina Osterloh will also be part of the Frieze Viewing Room, together with our onsite presentation of The Sea and The Jungle by Patricia Perez Eustaquio, Pow Martinez, and Yee I-Lann.