TAN YU KAI was born and raised in Penang, Malaysia. Once dismissed as artistically illiterate as a child, Tan has since distinguished himself as an emerging force on the scene, receiving multiple accolades, representations and publications. He was initially trained in Chinese painting and has taught himself to work in media including watercolour, gouache, egg tempera, acrylics and oils.

 

The dominant themes in Yu Kai’s works are human relationalities with the natural world. His curatorial work in natural history museums provokes him to re-examine ways of knowing and interacting with nature that exists within and beyond the scientific. Yu Kai’s pieces are emotive moments in conversation with alternative modes of seeing our position in the natural world.

 

Yu Kai has a Master’s in Earth & Environmental Sciences and a Bachelor degree with triple majors in Biology, Anthropology and Earth & Environmental Sciences under the Freeman-Asian Scholarship from Wesleyan University, Connecticut, USA. He is a pursuing a PhD in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at University of Michigan Ann Arbor.