Artist Jaee Tee steps into the Year of the Horse with movement, memory and momentum

With Chinese New Year upon us, artist Jaee Tee reflects on a practice rooted in tradition, yet always looking ahead. — Photos: YAP CHEE HONG/THE STAR; Wardrobe: KHOON HOOI; Styling: WILLIAM KC KEE

The creative journey of contemporary artist Jaee Tee began in Kampung Jugra, Selangor, where nature was not merely a setting but an active presence in her daily life. This early intimacy with the land continues to shape her artistic sensibility.

“Growing up in a small village, I formed an early bond with the land that continues to shape my work today. It taught me to listen, not just with my ears but with my body, my breath, my sense of time,” she recalls.

Before dedicating herself fully to art, Tee built a career in advertising as an AV (Audio-Visual) producer, working on television commercials that refined her eye for storytelling, composition and conceptual clarity – skills that remain integral to her practice today.

Instinct takes over

Though largely self-taught, Tee’s approach has always been disciplined and exploratory. She actively sought mentorship and technical knowledge across mediums including charcoal, oil painting, Chinese calligraphy and traditional ink, gradually developing a visual language that bridges Eastern philosophies with Western abstraction and material experimentation.

Sharing her work on Instagram proved pivotal, leading to representation by a Singapore gallery and the start of her professional career, followed by commissions for corporate spaces and luxury hotels.

On her creative process, Tee explains: “I approach art as a series of questions rather than answers. My work begins with ideas or moments that capture my attention through travel, daily life or memories from my childhood, where I formed a deep bond.

“I usually start with sketches and a colour palette in mind, but once I’m on the canvas, instinct takes over. It’s a balance of control and chance: my initial ideas guide the work but my emotions, intuition and even forces of nature like gravity shape the outcome.

“The process is a continuous negotiation between inner thoughts, impulses and external forces and in that space of uncertainty, the unexpected outcome often emerges as the most beautiful, just like life itself.”

Tee says her journey as an artist has been truly transformative; it’s not just a career, but something deeply tied to her sense of purpose. Art is how she thinks, feels and how she engages with the world.

In 2022, Tee’s career reached a significant milestone with her first solo exhibition at Qing Gallery in Kuala Lumpur. She was subsequently represented by Heritouch Gallery, known for international-calibre artworks and collectibles, expanding her reach across Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Singapore.

While her early works paid homage to Chinese ink traditions and cultural memory, her evolving practice now explores the subtle relationships between humans, materials, memory and the natural world.

Working primarily in painting – using oil, acrylic, natural pigments and materials gathered from forests – she creates layered, gestural abstractions, while expanding into installation and augmented reality to enrich the sensory and experiential dimensions of her work.

The chosen one

For Chinese New Year, Tee’s sensibility comes to life via an exhibition (ending on Feb 28, 2026) at Pavilion Damansara Heights in KL. Her zodiac-inspired series The Chosen 12 is conceived as a way to bring contemporary art into everyday public spaces.

Exploring time as cyclical and embodied rather than linear, the works carry quiet depth beneath their festive accessibility.

“What excited me most was seeing The Dashing Wind transformed into a large-scale fabric installation suspended from the centre court ceiling. The work becomes part of the architecture and can be seen from multiple viewpoints as people move through the mall,” enthuses Tee.

A dedicated gallery space also hosts Between Heritage and Horizon, offering a more intimate encounter with her practice. The title speaks to Tee’s ongoing fascination with time.

“Heritage embodies cyclical, inherited time through the Zodiac series, reflecting how cultural memory and ancestral rhythms repeat and resonate across generations. Horizon evokes the continuous, shifting rhythms of landscape in abstraction.

“By presenting these two bodies together, I aim to create a space where time is not a measured line but an experience, where past and future, memory and possibility, coexist and intersect” she muses.

Beyond the exhibition, Tee continues to expand her practice through cross-disciplinary collaborations. Recent highlights include An Artful Journey: Billecart-Salmon And The Six Masters, created with Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur and Billecart-Salmon, featuring a site-specific fabric installation and a live painting performance during an intimate champagne-pairing dinner.

This Chinese New Year, Tee says a cherished practice is greeting her parents and grandparents with words of blessing, wishing them good health, longevity and peace. She has always believed that words carry power.

Next month (March) marks another milestone as Tee embarks on her first overseas residency with the Leipzig International Art Programme in Leipzig, Germany.

Immersing herself in unfamiliar forests, light and seasonal shifts, she anticipates new influences on her approach to colour, materiality and gesture.

“This residency is an exciting opportunity to develop my work further, explore new ideas and connect with an international artistic community,” explains Tee.

“I plan to experiment with materials that reflect my ongoing interest in the intelligence and memory of natural landscapes, while preparing works for an exhibition during the Spring Gallery Tour and contributing a South-East Asian perspective.”

Honouring family traditions

Before departing for Germany, Tee plans to fully embrace the festivities in KL, grounding herself in cherished family traditions.

“On the eve, my mother would secretly slip an angpow under our pillows while we slept, a tradition meant to bring peace and protection for the year ahead. I now continue this tradition with my own children, and they look forward to it every year.

“Another cherished practice is greeting my parents and grandparents with words of blessing, wishing them good health, longevity and peace. I have always believed that words carry power. While this idea has deep roots in Chinese culture, it also resonates strongly with my Christian faith.”

Being born in the Year of the Sheep, Tee says: “My zodiac sign describes me as gentle, creative and peace-loving, with a strong appreciation for art and beauty and I do recognise parts of myself in that.

“However, I don’t take the zodiac as a fixed definition of who I am. For me, it carries a certain wisdom, one that reflects tendencies and personality traits rather than destiny.”

Looking back on 2025, her proudest achievement isn’t a single accolade but a deeper transformation – shifting from instinct-led work to a more concept-driven, research-based practice.

“I have invested in research, reading and immersing myself in museums, art fairs and international events, all of which sharpened my thinking and defined my position in contemporary art context. My journey as an artist has been truly transformative; it’s not just a career, but something deeply tied to my sense of purpose. Art is how I think, how I feel and how I engage with the world.”

Asked for her new year resolution, Tee replies: “It is to continue growing as an artist, staying curious and open to new ideas. And because I spend so much time in the studio, I’m making a conscious effort to be more active and engage in sports, so I can maintain a healthier balance between mind, body and creativity.”

For this artist, the Year of the Horse serves as a timely reminder to keep moving forward with momentum and purpose.