THE THOUGHT VISITS YOU. 2020

the thought visits you I, II, III, IV, V, VI

20cm by 180cm
100% silk habotai with eyelash fringe and machine roll hem
Edition of 5 + 1 Artist Print

For, one does not visit thoughts.

One goes there – where they are potentially, hopefully, housed;
To the places, spaces, which they possibly haunt.
And hope that the thought opens itself to you.

That the thought visits you.

Reaching out to touch, to hold, to embrace;
to wrap one’s arms around you.
Softly, gently, tightly, intensely.
To drape, to fold, to coil, to grasp, to clench.
To strangle,
then unravel. Knot.
Creases crisping of
tensions unresolved
that cannot be ironed
or steamed into softness
again.

Masks are the sign of our times, sign of our friendship: I risk you not, nor me.
I wrap myself up for you.

Photographs © Tom White & Yanyun Chen

Featuring Marl Goh, Sara Chong, Yinnam Chan & Nelly Tan

THE FEAST: AN AFFAIR OF EIGHT HANDS. 2025

An Affair of Eight Hands – a fun and playful interpretation, and expansion of a classic four hands dinner. This evening features the creative creations of artist Yanyun Chen, along with two chefs: Marvas Ng, from modern Asian French fusion, Michelin-selected restaurant, Path, and Chef Jack Allibone of members club, Mandala.

Going beyond the chefs’ four hands, this occasion involves “eight” – including the artist’s hands, and the diner’s own hands which complete the experience. This dining experience encourages guests to engage with their food using their hands, a motif reflected in Yanyun’s interest in gestures of communication, conversation and craft.

This special affair brings into focus the hands and hand gestures integral to the kitchen – the hands of both chefs, kitchen and service staff – now rendered on custom-made napkins, table cloths and table runners, underscoring the tactile journey of dining, and the unseen hands that prepare the food we eat.

Flux (2025)
Charcoal on paper
40cm by 56cm

Extending from "The thought visits you" (2020), “Flux” (2025) offers a flurry of gestures abstracted from conversations offer thoughts untranslatable. Without accompanying words and context, one is left solely with articulations of the body, uncertain and hesitating.