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The family gathering, especially over the dinner table, is one of the most important for bonding and catching up on the day’s activities of the various family members. This is a central theme in Yau Bee Ling’s early oeuvre as shown in her graduation show at the Malaysian Institute of Art in 1995. The difference from a 1995 work and this piece, done two years later, is that her siblings are all grown up and the fare on the table is noticeably more sumptuous with lobsters in evidence, which is a luxury even for a family reunion. Though depicted in cheery and bright colours, there is no sign of interaction or celebration amongst the subjects shown here. The indifferent facial expressions punctuate the viewer with a sense of brittle honesty that may at first seem deceptively naïve. Bee Ling cherishes traditional cultural values that are fast vanishing in this technology driven world. Here, the artist is perhaps urging the viewer to re-establish distant family ties especially during festive seasons.

Bee Ling graduated from the Malaysian Institute of Art in 1995. Her first break was when she was selected for the 9th Asian Art Biennale in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1999. She has an illustrious career that spans nearly thirteen years. Widely known for her vibrant and expressive works revolving around family values, her works utilise vivid colours and the layering on and scrapping back of paint. The third millennium proved propitious to her art career for she took part in the Singapore Sculpture Square (2000), the 2nd Fukuoka Triennial in Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan (2002) and the Soul of Asia: Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Collection Exhibition, Hokkaido, Japan (2004). In 2005, she was selected as a artist-in-resident at Rimbun Dahan. Her works have been collected by the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan and Galeri Petronas in Malaysia, as well as numerous private collections locally and abroad.