Jennifer Tee’s exhibition Still Shifting, Mother Field explores the idea of the wandering spirit or lost soul and, moreover, the question of how we can refine or redefine the human’s place in the cosmic world and our surrounding natural environment. Still Shifting, Mother Field features a body of newly developed works in specially tailored spatial presentations. Tee combines sculptures, among them ceramic domes, knitted floor pieces, and textile shrouds, with installation and collages to continue her ongoing process of negotiation between material experimentation and philosophical practice. Additionally, a performance is staged with six dancers who activate and interact with the textile sculptures in the exhibition.
A central element of the exhibition is, however, the collage series Tampan Tulip, on which Tee has worked for over a decade and which is shown in its majority for the first time. The collages are made of pressed tulip petals with motifs taken from Lampung Tampan weavings that often include a ship with human souls, animals, and plant-like forms moving forward to the afterlife: references, which explore the tree of life, migration, and diasporic narratives in relation to genealogy and ancestry. The Tampan Tulip works are also the core subject of this artist’s book, which reflects the unique language, vocabulary, and material realities behind the imagery, narrative, and materiality of these collages. With contributions by Natasha Ginwala and Sophie J Williamson, revealing new perspectives on Tee’s Tampan Tulip series in their texts.
Publisher: Secession
Concept: Jennifer Tee
Publication Manager: Tina Lipsky
Book design: Cleo Tsw
Image Research: Wendy van Slagmaat-Bos
Photography: Ernst van Deursen
Preface: Annette Südbeck and Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy
Texts: Natasha Ginwala, Sophie J Williamson
Copy-editing and Proofreading: Charlotte Eckler, Wendy van Slagmaat-Bos
Produced by: robstolk, Amsterdam
Edition: 400 copies
Papers: Munken Lynx, IGEPA Emotion Natural White, IGEPA Maxi Offset
ISBN 978-3-95763-524-2
© 2022 Secession, Kunstinstituut Melly, Jennifer Tee, the authors, and photographers