THROUGH THE WESTERN EYES: ANALYSING THE STRATEGY OF SUBVERSION IN YEE I LANN’S PICTURING POWER (2013) PHOTOMONTAGES

Photography is a hybrid tool of the artistic and scientific process in which theinception and revolution had grown alongside colonialism. Colonialphotography serves as objective historical documentation and at the sametime it also al ludes to an illusion of European superiority over the colonisedOthers. Many contem porary artists took notice of certain tropes in thepreserved images of the past and began to incorporate them into their worksas a way to address and examine the coloni al authority. This paper aims tostudy the strategy of subversion in photomontage created by Malaysian a rtist,Yee I Lann. Photomontage is an artistic technique that combines severalphotographs for artistic effect. The juxtaposition of these images createincongruities that can either change or subvert our perceptions andexpectations of these photographs . The focus of this paper will be on Yee ILann’s Picturing Power (2013), a collection of eight digital photomontagesreferencing the history of photograp hy as it relates to the development ofcolonialism in Southeast Asia and its contemporary legacy. By using historicalmimesis (altering and appropriating the archival images), the paper will arguethat the artist exposes the hidden message of Western imper ialism within thesestill images . In conclusion, this paper hopes that by studying this series ofphotomontages, it will present a reengagement with the past throughsubverting our perspectives of these historical images.