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Dhan Illiani Yusof
©
What are your intentions with me?
Second skin, two years back (2024) for my solo exhibition ‘Niyat’ at the National Art Gallery,
I experimented the idea of wearing my heart on the sleeve, and the idea of my hijab being part of a limb, a skin on skin, what it sacrifices and what it loves, my many inner conflicts and the pressures, the ideas in between shedding, or transforming an intention such as that into form.
materially I experimented between cow leather or sheep leather, and tattooing as a technique for me to etch onto textile,
learned for two months under Mr Simple Lim who runs a tattoo shop at GMBB at the time.
Two years now, I still carry this project and the conversations we had, best to say, we both had a loooottt of questions (yela some random tudung girl said she wants to learn how to tattoo)
I think what was unexpected is in learning the sentiments that we face or feel were very similar, of what is it like to live with or as symbols at times, the intentions behind what we choose to stay with on a daily, and the perceptions we face depending on context were at some parts interchangeable. Pretty cool conversations about being humans and our choices without the measures of resolving anything.
I experimented the idea of wearing my heart on the sleeve, and the idea of my hijab being part of a limb, a skin on skin, what it sacrifices and what it loves, my many inner conflicts and the pressures, the ideas in between shedding, or transforming an intention such as that into form.
materially I experimented between cow leather or sheep leather, and tattooing as a technique for me to etch onto textile,
learned for two months under Mr Simple Lim who runs a tattoo shop at GMBB at the time.
Two years now, I still carry this project and the conversations we had, best to say, we both had a loooottt of questions (yela some random tudung girl said she wants to learn how to tattoo)
I think what was unexpected is in learning the sentiments that we face or feel were very similar, of what is it like to live with or as symbols at times, the intentions behind what we choose to stay with on a daily, and the perceptions we face depending on context were at some parts interchangeable. Pretty cool conversations about being humans and our choices without the measures of resolving anything.
Wrapped up two exhibitions that was held in these past few months.
In Taipei, my work was shown as part of Fragments of Remembering (記憶的隙縫), the 2026 @photovogue exhibition at Bellavita, presented in celebration of @voguetaiwan ‘s 30th anniversary. Terjoin its residency program as well, last minute assistance was needed so @haidayusof terjoin to help my neurospicyness take comfort in all the newness.
And in Arnhem, Netherlands, my moving image work Konfrontasi was shown as part of @stateoffashionnl State of Fashion Biennale 2026: Available to Promise, baru recently ended, was told welcomed more than 60,000 visitors and officiated by Queen Maxima of 🇳🇱 herself.
gila gila thank you @voguetaiwan @sunles @alessiaglaviano
@stateoffashionnl and it’s curators @annezzzzzz @world_of_shanu @vandriel_marinkovic_luo for giving the work a place within these conversations 🐑
Images by Ema Broekema
In Taipei, my work was shown as part of Fragments of Remembering (記憶的隙縫), the 2026 @photovogue exhibition at Bellavita, presented in celebration of @voguetaiwan ‘s 30th anniversary. Terjoin its residency program as well, last minute assistance was needed so @haidayusof terjoin to help my neurospicyness take comfort in all the newness.
And in Arnhem, Netherlands, my moving image work Konfrontasi was shown as part of @stateoffashionnl State of Fashion Biennale 2026: Available to Promise, baru recently ended, was told welcomed more than 60,000 visitors and officiated by Queen Maxima of 🇳🇱 herself.
gila gila thank you @voguetaiwan @sunles @alessiaglaviano
@stateoffashionnl and it’s curators @annezzzzzz @world_of_shanu @vandriel_marinkovic_luo for giving the work a place within these conversations 🐑
Images by Ema Broekema
Seimbang
Hello Taipei @photovogue @voguetaiwan
jumpa orang kajang thats flown into the fashion limelight @zhonglin_
jumpa orang kajang thats flown into the fashion limelight @zhonglin_
Niyaat studies of materiality,
#01 Pressed flowers entrapped in organza, baju kurung
the first time I experimented with pressed flowers was perhaps when my late mother would keep in her old dictionary as bookmarks, often leaving marks in the books,
using orchids that fell frm store launching bouquets that often end wilting for weeks, and edible malaysian grown flowers like pansies and keeping them within books in my bookshelves, sewn into this baju kurung piece that also doubles as a headcovering.
#01 Pressed flowers entrapped in organza, baju kurung
the first time I experimented with pressed flowers was perhaps when my late mother would keep in her old dictionary as bookmarks, often leaving marks in the books,
using orchids that fell frm store launching bouquets that often end wilting for weeks, and edible malaysian grown flowers like pansies and keeping them within books in my bookshelves, sewn into this baju kurung piece that also doubles as a headcovering.
A very soy-filled evening in the studio.
@nobomilk invited me to create an installation for their special luncheon. Somewhere between the weaving and sewing, I returned to the karangan Bahasa Melayu format so many of us grew up with,
the school essays where everyday objects became sentient, each narrating their own improbable life story.
Seeing soya within that lens,
where familiarity remains but isn’t fixed, it evolves to us finding new ways to acquaint to it.
Anyway, I am a huge soy girl ✨
@nobomilk invited me to create an installation for their special luncheon. Somewhere between the weaving and sewing, I returned to the karangan Bahasa Melayu format so many of us grew up with,
the school essays where everyday objects became sentient, each narrating their own improbable life story.
Seeing soya within that lens,
where familiarity remains but isn’t fixed, it evolves to us finding new ways to acquaint to it.
Anyway, I am a huge soy girl ✨
tibe tibe @voguetaiwan @photovogue 🐑
will be in Taiwan this July for a quick residency and show
will be in Taiwan this July for a quick residency and show
🧎🏻♀️dua tiga threads berlari
Konfrontasi (Confrontation) is currently screening as part of something CINEMA, in the State of Fashion Biennale 2026 in Arnhem, Netherlands. @stateoffashionnl
part of an ongoing inquiry into the recurring visual culture of fashion in Malaysia, the repetition of certain aesthetics or gestures, and the inner tensions that naturally emerge when one does not naturally fit within an established sense of uniformity/formation.
Sapa-sapa yang dekat 🇳🇱, tolong perigiiii 🐑 👚👖👕👗
part of an ongoing inquiry into the recurring visual culture of fashion in Malaysia, the repetition of certain aesthetics or gestures, and the inner tensions that naturally emerge when one does not naturally fit within an established sense of uniformity/formation.
Sapa-sapa yang dekat 🇳🇱, tolong perigiiii 🐑 👚👖👕👗
June utk niyat. pink. stillness. friends. tuhan and an inner groove.
chutchutchut
Performance art master class with @dinsabah
(rindu moving my body)
lathered in whipping cream as a head covering, slowly cair like milk for a kitten. enough catcalls, to become one.
Performance art master class with @dinsabah
(rindu moving my body)
lathered in whipping cream as a head covering, slowly cair like milk for a kitten. enough catcalls, to become one.
Mak,
Brought my granny puff into my world, a language i’m more fasih and equipped with, the best way that I know how to kenal,
been reorienting myself in ways I can’t susun into words to comprehend, now my head toleh to watch the ephemeral process of women and becoming,
maybe from learning about myself more or just growing older, mungkin even another form to feel my late mother again in stories that paint her before the pictures I have of her and to kenal becomes something different again.
niyaat # 01
handsewn baju kurung, pressed orchids and local flowers encased in three layers of organza.
Brought my granny puff into my world, a language i’m more fasih and equipped with, the best way that I know how to kenal,
been reorienting myself in ways I can’t susun into words to comprehend, now my head toleh to watch the ephemeral process of women and becoming,
maybe from learning about myself more or just growing older, mungkin even another form to feel my late mother again in stories that paint her before the pictures I have of her and to kenal becomes something different again.
niyaat # 01
handsewn baju kurung, pressed orchids and local flowers encased in three layers of organza.
finally moving my hands to a different rhythm and time, yay to free time
paksa diri in a self induced residency at the moment,
Selamat Hari Raya 🌙
Maaf zahir batin!
terikut local folklore of daun semalu (shameplant - mimosa pudica)
Maaf zahir batin!
terikut local folklore of daun semalu (shameplant - mimosa pudica)
exhibiting in Women by Women, the 10th edition of the @photovogue Festival, @voguemagazine held at the prestigious Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Milan.
Selected among 150 artists from nearly 100,000 submissions worldwide, the exhibition explores what it means to tengok menegok as a woman, (see and and be seen as a woman).
Grateful to work in some of the projects with friends, shout out to @highkeyflair @aidan.at @whoisshiyan who contributed in collaboration. I’ve always been raw and guerrilla in moving my visual image work, so its a joy to learn new tricks continuously - reminds how being open, supportive of new ideas, cultivating and challenging visions makes a difference in our shared local creative ecosystems.
Thank you @photovogue @alessiaglaviano
Grateful to be part of this collective chorus of voices.
Thank you @nationalartgallerymy for assisting in providing the means for the exchange to happen
Selected among 150 artists from nearly 100,000 submissions worldwide, the exhibition explores what it means to tengok menegok as a woman, (see and and be seen as a woman).
Grateful to work in some of the projects with friends, shout out to @highkeyflair @aidan.at @whoisshiyan who contributed in collaboration. I’ve always been raw and guerrilla in moving my visual image work, so its a joy to learn new tricks continuously - reminds how being open, supportive of new ideas, cultivating and challenging visions makes a difference in our shared local creative ecosystems.
Thank you @photovogue @alessiaglaviano
Grateful to be part of this collective chorus of voices.
Thank you @nationalartgallerymy for assisting in providing the means for the exchange to happen
I onboarded my first intern @8i8.c0m, who reached out from Pattani, Thailand last year, this very cute petite girl reminded me a lot about my earlier days of navigating the world, no one told me about returning to an earlier self mirrored through the presence of another woman at the beginning of her own journey.
sebenarnya, quite nervous about the responsibility, but there was also the realisation how somehow, I’ve grown be more relational within my intimate process.
for her last task, I decided nisrin to have her first exhibition, ‘Reworked’ under temu international women’s day (this wasn’t planned btw - but seemed to present to be the best time, for an artwork of us working in collaboration.
The piece reworks an early conceptual image and collage of myself in a fetal resting figure sheltered within a durian form beneath a moon. I created that image at a time when I was
younger and more uncertain, often searching for spaces of emotional and creative safety, a place of lindungan.
So it seemed poetic to circle back around and present how the things you seek you become.
sebenarnya, quite nervous about the responsibility, but there was also the realisation how somehow, I’ve grown be more relational within my intimate process.
for her last task, I decided nisrin to have her first exhibition, ‘Reworked’ under temu international women’s day (this wasn’t planned btw - but seemed to present to be the best time, for an artwork of us working in collaboration.
The piece reworks an early conceptual image and collage of myself in a fetal resting figure sheltered within a durian form beneath a moon. I created that image at a time when I was
younger and more uncertain, often searching for spaces of emotional and creative safety, a place of lindungan.
So it seemed poetic to circle back around and present how the things you seek you become.
A few years back, shooting commissioned by instagram
doadia ~ diadoa
Obor-obor in love with brown muddy waters,
This was perhaps one of my first experiment with conceptual photography when I was 19 or 20 used mydin printed batiks to test out teratai like hijabs. with baby @thezulvanny and @definitelyefi 🐑🤍
This was perhaps one of my first experiment with conceptual photography when I was 19 or 20 used mydin printed batiks to test out teratai like hijabs. with baby @thezulvanny and @definitelyefi 🐑🤍
Konfrontasi study
the absurd, exhausted, holy, and defiant
@irinedaris
@insyirahiszarizal
@eridiata
@nebularbabe
Shooting Team:
@whoisshiyan
@aidan.at
@highkeyflair
the absurd, exhausted, holy, and defiant
@irinedaris
@insyirahiszarizal
@eridiata
@nebularbabe
Shooting Team:
@whoisshiyan
@aidan.at
@highkeyflair
Violence is ordinary
Its bred, nurtured, normalised, cultivated, even cared for.
And no, I don’t mean the boys.
I mean a culture,
rife with collective complicity.
Why do we pretend to be in shock
at the rise in femicide, assault, and rape
of young women and girls?
Have you not heard your sister say,
it’s almost a rite of passage for women.
Your aunt say,
we all go through it.
Your mother say,
it’s part of being a woman.
A nation’s nawaitu
missed its nyawa itu.
our ordinary is violence here.
Muse: @eridiata
Its bred, nurtured, normalised, cultivated, even cared for.
And no, I don’t mean the boys.
I mean a culture,
rife with collective complicity.
Why do we pretend to be in shock
at the rise in femicide, assault, and rape
of young women and girls?
Have you not heard your sister say,
it’s almost a rite of passage for women.
Your aunt say,
we all go through it.
Your mother say,
it’s part of being a woman.
A nation’s nawaitu
missed its nyawa itu.
our ordinary is violence here.
Muse: @eridiata
The on-going exploration of Iman Alternative,
of modern Malay femininity
absurd, exhausted, holy, and defiant.
The mysticism of the Malay woman in collision with devotion, set against the extractive nature of modern structures.
Yayyyyyyyyy updated the websiteeeeeee
https://www.dhanillianiyusof.com/blog
Also my Merpati Putih is cute here (My Myvi car’s pet name of 9 years)
@dayanayahaya
@irinedaris
@insyirahiszarizal
@eridiata
@nebularbabe
Shooting Team:
@whoisshiyan
@aidan.at
@highkeyflair
of modern Malay femininity
absurd, exhausted, holy, and defiant.
The mysticism of the Malay woman in collision with devotion, set against the extractive nature of modern structures.
Yayyyyyyyyy updated the websiteeeeeee
https://www.dhanillianiyusof.com/blog
Also my Merpati Putih is cute here (My Myvi car’s pet name of 9 years)
@dayanayahaya
@irinedaris
@insyirahiszarizal
@eridiata
@nebularbabe
Shooting Team:
@whoisshiyan
@aidan.at
@highkeyflair
Iman Alternative
@dayanayahaya
@irinedaris
@insyirahiszarizal
@eridiata
@nebularbabe
Shooting Team:
@whoisshiyan
@aidan.at
@highkeyflair
@dayanayahaya
@irinedaris
@insyirahiszarizal
@eridiata
@nebularbabe
Shooting Team:
@whoisshiyan
@aidan.at
@highkeyflair
‘she, in apostrophe, hyper-read yet profoundly unread’
what you read in me,
will always be incomplete,
shooting team
@highkeyflair
@aidan.at
what you read in me,
will always be incomplete,
shooting team
@highkeyflair
@aidan.at
2/6 of my graduate’s collection from 2018
in 2018 I made an ode to my late mother’s memory ( one of many ) of the little things she taught me growing up,
on sewing, pressing flowers within Atlas and encyclopedia books, lessons on gardening and its life cycles and its gift of memberi,
so naturally I pressed a number of malaysian grown flowers and encased them in between the thinnest layers of silk fabric and sewn the edges into place, completed by a branch from one of my favourite evening walks by the taman.
A kind of autopsy of her bones, the beribu- (ibu) that i feel is around me in anything green, reminiscent of her green nature and fingers
As pressed flowers lose their vibrancy - the colour faded, yet the fragility and presence remained. A soft monument to time, memory, deep grief and what is passed down through fabric, care, and decay. Echoing as well the pain of seeing her hide her cancer in the last few months.
it’s been 7 years since i created this piece and yet this work still hangs over adjacent to my bed has lasted longer than what I expected. Fragility frozen in its own time.
It was named different before in a show, but changed it later to
“Tinggal Beribu” - on whats left yet stays, whats given yet taken and what is a thousand mothers experienced within them
on sewing, pressing flowers within Atlas and encyclopedia books, lessons on gardening and its life cycles and its gift of memberi,
so naturally I pressed a number of malaysian grown flowers and encased them in between the thinnest layers of silk fabric and sewn the edges into place, completed by a branch from one of my favourite evening walks by the taman.
A kind of autopsy of her bones, the beribu- (ibu) that i feel is around me in anything green, reminiscent of her green nature and fingers
As pressed flowers lose their vibrancy - the colour faded, yet the fragility and presence remained. A soft monument to time, memory, deep grief and what is passed down through fabric, care, and decay. Echoing as well the pain of seeing her hide her cancer in the last few months.
it’s been 7 years since i created this piece and yet this work still hangs over adjacent to my bed has lasted longer than what I expected. Fragility frozen in its own time.
It was named different before in a show, but changed it later to
“Tinggal Beribu” - on whats left yet stays, whats given yet taken and what is a thousand mothers experienced within them
Showing some textile works from my residency time in Indonesia in 2019, come come. @cult_gallery
In collaboration with @samyama.by.johnang , 𝘼𝙎𝙀𝘼𝙉 𝘼𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙨: 𝘼 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 traces the shared cultural threads of ASEAN nations through contemporary artistic expressions and historical textiles. Contemporary works curated by @cult_gallery are placed in dialogue with antique and vintage textiles and objects from the collection of @samyama.by.johnang , set in the charming space of @yapahshakhouse
Anchoring this year’s ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, the exhibition highlights regional continuities and tensions through material histories and artistic practices.
The poster features artwork by @dhanilliani presented by Cult, alongside a Kelantanese silk screen by Mohamed Yusof from the Samyama collection.
In collaboration with @samyama.by.johnang , 𝘼𝙎𝙀𝘼𝙉 𝘼𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙨: 𝘼 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 traces the shared cultural threads of ASEAN nations through contemporary artistic expressions and historical textiles. Contemporary works curated by @cult_gallery are placed in dialogue with antique and vintage textiles and objects from the collection of @samyama.by.johnang , set in the charming space of @yapahshakhouse
Anchoring this year’s ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, the exhibition highlights regional continuities and tensions through material histories and artistic practices.
The poster features artwork by @dhanilliani presented by Cult, alongside a Kelantanese silk screen by Mohamed Yusof from the Samyama collection.
Was in Jakarta for a shortwhile for the hectic fun of sourcing items and materials to art direct for Tidur Lambak’s immersive set installation and show directed by my friends @tahalong @freezforshort under @tapirstudio.my at the Jakarta International Theater Platform @d_teaterplatform love all the sleeping tapirs who joined in the nap session, Thank you to the DITP Crew for smoothly managing the team’s whole trip, Thank you Indonesia 🤍🤝🏻
@photovogue,
Terima Kasih @alessiaglaviano 🙏🏻 was in a daze wondering how its possible to be part of the final 150 out of the 100k submissions worldwide, the little girl in me is ecstatic to see a glimpse of someone she wishes to see more of in the world.
here’s to my friends and the girls ive worked with across in my art practice for trusting me to realize my visions together, entah how but life is diy always
Terima Kasih @alessiaglaviano 🙏🏻 was in a daze wondering how its possible to be part of the final 150 out of the 100k submissions worldwide, the little girl in me is ecstatic to see a glimpse of someone she wishes to see more of in the world.
here’s to my friends and the girls ive worked with across in my art practice for trusting me to realize my visions together, entah how but life is diy always
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