Man Yau explores the representation of femininity and racialised identity, examining how they are constructed through Orientalist visual language within a Western context. At the heart of the exhibition is the divan—a metaphorical reclining platform for the accepted and historically embedded ornamentation of the female body, as well as for the passive pose assigned to women in Western art history. For centuries, the female body has served as an object of the gaze, imagination and power.
The exhibition has been supported by Greta och Alfred Runebergs Stiftelse, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Taikalyhty Oy, the Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Tiftö Foundation and the Finnish Heritage Agency.
Following its presentation at Turku Art Museum, Divan will be exhibited at Margot Samel Gallery in New York in early 2027.
Man Yau (b. 1991) is a Helsinki-based sculptor whose practice is grounded in a profound understanding of materials. Moving fluidly between glass, silk, metal, ceramics and marble, she employs each material as a deliberate visual language to reveal the hidden memories and culturally constructed associations embedded in everyday objects.
