ABOUT ME
ROSELYN YAP / TITS THE ARTIST
My journey of becoming an artist began in 2013 when I quit my job in finance. In 2015, I bought a one-way flight ticket from Sydney to Berlin on a leap of faith that paid off, since Berlin turned out to be the fertile ground I was looking for.
I am a 3rd generation Indonesian-born-Chinese who migrated to Australia for higher education, a sheer privilege compared to my grandfather, a poor textile merchant, who immigrated from China to Indonesia in search of better prosperity.
Growing up in Indonesia, I was surrounded by delicious food and delightful utilitarian handcrafts that my grandmother (1st gen. Chinese Indonesian) and aunts made. I loved playing in my parents’ hardware store to the point of being kicked out, so I could do my homework. That kid is the muse of my art.
"Women's Work - Homage" at Grüntaler 9, Berlin (2018)
Photo: Aleks Slota
ARTIST STATEMENT
My body of work is a feminine circle. Inseparable to life, I am naturally drawn to the subjects of love, transformation and death. In response to past experience of gender discrimination, I am engaged in the social activism of recognising individuality and unorthodox values, as well as presenting women’s issues - our roles, progression and setbacks. Due to my educational background, I am attracted to kind-hearted exchanges in the world of economics and commerce. Lastly, my pseudonym T.I.T.S. does not stand for anything. I dreamed of becoming a street artist when I was starting out. I saw the word above a university building the week I quit my job in finance.
EDUCATION
2013 University of the Arts, London (UK) - Interior Design Summer Course
2012 RMIT University, Melbourne (AU) - Textile Design Summer Course
2001 Macquarie University, Sydney (AU) - Bachelor of Commerce
AWARDS
2022 Akademie für Suffizienz, Art Residency, Reckenthin, Prignitz (DE)
2022 Praxis Galley, Honourable Mention in Juried Photo Competition - The Streets, Minneapolis (USA)
2021 VG Bild Kunst & Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien, Neustart Kultur Grant, Berlin (DE)
2020 Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa, Scholarship for Special Program, Berlin (DE)
2018 Arte Laguna Prize, Performance Finalist, Venice (IT)
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2022 “Zu Verschenken” (Installation/G), Akademie für Suffizienz, Prignitz (DE)
2022 “Women’s Work: Unfinished Business” (Installation/S), Im Grünen Bereich Artspace, Berlin (DE)
2022 “Sweet Banality of the Urban Landscape” (Photography/G), 5. Chania International Photo Festival, Crete Is. (GR)
2022 “Sweet Banality of the Urban Landscape” (Photography/G), Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis (USA)
2022 “fairshare! for Female Artists” (Performance/G), Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (DE)
2019 “Child Oddity” (Performance/G) in Immaterial Arts Festival, Bermel Von Luxburg Gallery, Berlin (DE)
2018 “Homage” (Performance/G) im LEGS 9 Hour Performance Marathon, Grüntaler9, Berlin (DE)
2018 “Experimental Cooking” (Performance/S) in 48 Hour Neukölln, Museum für Werte, Berlin (DE)
2018 “My Transformation from Banker to Artist” (Performance/S), Les Enfants Terribles Organisation, Berlin (DE)
2018 “The Wash” (Performance/G) at the Award Ceremony of Arte Laguna Prize, Arsenal of Venice, Venice (IT)
2018 “Be Kind To Yourself” (Performance/S), The School of Nothing, Berlin (DE)
2018 “Discarded Objects - A Personal Journey” (Talk/G), WikiStage, Berlin (DE)
2017 “Out beyond wrong doings and right doings, there is a field. I’ll meet you there” (Performance/G), gr_und Gallery, Berlin (DE)
2017 “The National Anthem Exercise”, “The Horizon Where We Can Never Touch”, “Laughing Exercise”, “Walking Exercise” (Performance/G), HKW, Berlin (DE). Performance Pieces by Isaac Chong
2016 “To Lose” (Performance/G), The Forum Factory, Berlin (DE)
*G = Group, S = Solo