Jade Yumang, All Aflutter (detail), 2024. Courtesy of the artist
School of Art Gallery presents Jade Yumang: Next Door, Around the Corner, Inside the Bathhouse, By the Sea and Back
Opening November 21 in the School of Art Gallery, Next Door, Around the Corner, Inside the Bathhouse, By the Sea and Back delves into the fluid and evolving dimensions of diasporic identity. Through intricate explorations of cultural intersections, artist Jade Yumang queers traditional timelines by examining two distant yet connected moments where identity resists, reclaims, and refines itself: the development of filet lace in the Philippines and the 1990s “boy-next-door” appeal of Asian-American porn star Brandon Lee.
Curated by Blair Fornwald, School of Art Gallery Director
Exhibition Dates: November 21, 2024–February 1, 2025
Location: School of Art Gallery, University of Manitoba
Opening Events | Thursday, November 21
- Artist Talk: 12:00 PM–1:30 PM
Location: 368 ARTlab, University of Manitoba (Live-stream on the School of Art Gallery UM YouTube channel)
Accessibility: ASL interpretation and closed-captioning available. - Reception: 5:00 PM–8:00 PM
Location: Main Gallery, 255 ARTlab, University of Manitoba
Exhibition Overview
Filet lace, a meticulous craft introduced by Spanish colonizers in the 16th century, combines imagery and patterning on a gridded textile. With time, Filipino artisans developed a signature style, weaving pineapple leaf fibers into piña cloth, integrating lace with uniquely Philippine motifs. This textile craft evolved further during the American occupation, adapting to appeal to soldiers’ tastes and becoming a cultural bridge between continents.
Yumang’s work reinterprets this delicate medium, using it to recreate portraits of Filipino-American porn star Brandon Lee, originally known as Jon Enriquez. Lee’s mainstream “boyfriend material” roles in the 90s gay porn scene offered a subversive, non-stereotypical image of Asian masculinity. Interwoven into Yumang’s lace portraits are soft, sprawling textile sculptures, extending from bamboo frames, embodying themes of rupture, fluidity, and resistance against fixed identities and forms.
About the Artist
Jade Yumang was born in Quezon City, Philippines, raised in Dubai, UAE, and now resides in Chicago, IL. With a practice rooted in examining identity through craft and materiality, Yumang’s work has been featured internationally and supported by prestigious grants and residencies. They hold an MFA from Parsons School of Design and a BFA from the University of British Columbia and are currently an Associate Professor in Fiber and Material Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Additional Programming
Filet Lace Workshop: Meander in the Grid with Jade Yumang
Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024
Time: 12:30 PM–3:30 PM
Location: C2 Centre for Craft, 1-329 Cumberland Avenue
In partnership with the Manitoba Craft Council, this workshop will introduce participants to filet lace. Materials are provided, and all skill levels are welcome. Free registration required.
Contact Information
School of Art Gallery
255 ARTlab, 180 Dafoe Road, University of Manitoba (Fort Garry campus)
Email: gallery@umanitoba.ca
Phone: 204-474-9322
Hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM (Closed on statutory holidays)