Pictures of Transition Contemporary paintings from Myanmar
Cover image: Yan Naing Oo The Beauty of Nature, 2013 acrylic on canvas 91 x 122 cm
Pictures of Transition Contemporary paintings from Myanmar Curated by Dr Charlotte Galloway, Centre for Art History and Art Theory, College of Arts and Social Sciences and Director ANU Myanmar Research Centre, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University Nicholas Coppel Australian Ambassador to Myanmar 2015-2018
1 - 15 March 2019 School of Art & Design Gallery College of Arts & Social Sciences The Australian National University
Tamalar Karen Landscape, 2014 acrylic on canvas 121 x 91 cm Photo: David Lindesay
Contents
Pictures of Transition Contemporary Paintings from Myanmar 3 Introduction 5 Myanmar’s Contemporary Art Scene 7
The Exhibition 15
Contributing artists 43
Artworks 49
Acknowledgements 61
Pictures of Transition Contemporary Paintings from Myanmar From 2011, after decades of repressive military rule and self-imposed isolation, Myanmar underwent far-reaching economic and political reforms, including to censorship of the media and the arts. Myanmar’s artists have embraced their new freedom, but in ways different from that seen in other countries where artists have gained access to the international art world after a period of restriction. Some artists are using art to express their support for the heroes and heroic moments in the struggle for political reform. A few are making bold political statements. Others are using art to comment on the ongoing challenges of contemporary urban life, itself something which would have been seen as subversive prior to 2011. But the biggest change has been in the number of artists making paintings professionally. Urban and rural landscapes, portraits of women, and images from Buddhist mythology feature in many of the works of both the established and the new generation of artists. Outside Myanmar the general perception is that Aung San Suu Kyi is the democratically elected leader of Myanmar. She is. However Myanmar’s politics is more complicated than it seems. Under Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution, drawn up by the military, twentyfive per cent of the seats in both houses of Parliament are filled by the nominees of the 2
Commander in Chief of the defence forces. The Commander in Chief also personally appoints three ministers: Defence, Border Affairs and Home Affairs. Border Affairs is significant as it is in the border regions where some ethnic minorities remain in open conflict with the military (the largest ethnic armed organisation, the Wa, is believed to have a standing army of around 30,000 personnel). And Home Affairs is significant because the Minister has responsibility for the Myanmar Police Force and, until very recently, the General Administration Department, which is the presence of the Union Government at the local level. It is, then, an uncomfortable power sharing arrangement (a diarchy) between Aung San Suu Kyi and her former captors. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy holds an absolute majority in parliament (but is not able to achieve constitutional change which requires 75 per cent plus one support from the members) and the support of the people. On the other hand the Commander in Chief has a monopoly on the coercive power of the state. In the event these two clash, it is the people who will suffer. The military remain unaccountable and continue to play a large and ominous role in Myanmar’s politics and economy. And yet reconciliation, rather than reform or retribution, underlies the choice of subject matter in many contemporary Myanmar paintings. Memories of the recent past leave a residual layer of self-censorship. Pictures of Transition captures the diversity of contemporary paintings from Myanmar. Tentative first steps at political commentary, the depiction of female nudes that shock many in Myanmar who consider the subject matter inappropriate, images of rural life and from Buddhist mythology, scenes from teashops and night markets - all make up Myanmar art today. It is not a distinctive Myanmar school of painting. It is a flourishing of individualism following five decades of repression.  
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Shine Lu The Buddha’s face, 2014 acrylic on canvas 122 x 91cm
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Introduction Dr Charlotte Galloway The genesis of this exhibition has risen from an appreciation for Myanmar contemporary painting that has taken some years to develop. Burmese contemporary painting can require time to understand. The decorative colourful images of street scenes and landscapes may at first glance be easily dismissed as ‘tourist art’ and indeed, western curators and art historians showed little interest in Myanmar contemporary painting until recent years. Yet, if we pause to really look at the works and consider them in their cultural context, there is much more embedded within these images. Myanmar culture is complex. It takes years to develop personal relationships and to gain trust. When first asking about the meaning of a painting, you are just as likely to get a vague answer, accompanied with a smile. It has only been after trust is formed that we often get more information. This is not just an issue between foreigners and Burmese artists, it also happens between the Burmese themselves. Gallery owner Pyay Way recently recounted an example when he explained that when anyone asked one senior figure in Myanmar art who is well known for his paintings of heads of women in abstracted form, if he ever painted political works, he always said no. Yet, just recently he offered a little more noting that during military rule, every time he drew on a bus ticket, or painted any image, it was always a political act. This simple remark opens up a whole new way of viewing his works. With Buddhism an integral part of Myanmar culture and history we often miss some of the visual symbols within paintings. Talking with artists we gain some insight into the use of colours. Themes emerge of cool and warm colours which artists link to calm 5
and meditative states. The act of painting is often an act of mindfulness and can be a conscious meritorious act of devotion. Often the scenes themselves have deeper meaning. For those of us familiar with Yangon’s street culture of markets and tea stalls, the abstracted depictions of these spaces is not always an artistic style of the artist but rather, a reference to how these until now very familiar and integral parts of Burmese culture are disappearing – the paintings are prompting us to remember how these places make us feel rather than providing a literal vision. An often confounding aspect to artistic practice is the way many artists change styles and themes through their careers. This is in contrast to western norms where artists develop reputations for their own aesthetic vision. Again, understanding elements of Buddhist philosophy help understand why this is an organic element to a Burmese painter’s life. Notions of impermanence, relationships to past, present and future are all fluid states, nothing is fixed. Shine Lu, for example, has worked through very different series. When he created his Buddha head series, he was resolving his own personal feelings. Once he decided he no longer needed to go down this path he simply stopped. His current work is a series of urban landscapes. Finally, we cannot underestimate the impact of years of censorship and restriction on artistic practice. Artists still painted, but many works were never exhibited. Artists became adept at integrating elements of activism and symbolism in their works. This is where outsiders have most trouble understanding the nuances in what they see – a carefully placed flower may reference Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, dark green may hint at the military. Burmese culture is one where visual narratives and reading visual images is embedded. While traditionally these visual narratives have related to Buddhism, the act of reading visual images now extends well beyond that. As censorship laws relax artists are slowly becoming more overtly political. Yet to focus on depictions of political themes would ignore the majority of painters who engage with more subtle renderings of the challenges facing Myanmar today. The works in the exhibition have been painted during what is known as the period of transition, when military rule ended and a pathway to democracy was enacted. There is a very active consciousness of rapid social change, degradation of the environment and ruptures to social networks. These concerns are there to be seen in the paintings – if we pause and take time, and look beyond the surface. 6
Myanmar’s Contemporary Art Scene Nicholas Coppel Myanmar’s opening since 2011 after decades of repressive military rule and self-imposed isolation has revealed an art scene that is still evolving. Although new to the international art world, Myanmar artists have not simply followed the path taken by artists in other developing countries after they gained access to the international art world. This modest exhibition of contemporary Myanmar art seeks to showcase the works of leading artists and, through their paintings, provide us with some insight into how they see Myanmar – its urban life and landscapes, its rural life and landscapes, its beliefs, its social and political life, and other concerns of individual artists. The exhibition is organised around these themes. Myanmar’s contemporary art scene is characterised by hundreds of artists, primarily in Yangon and Mandalay, seeking to make a living through painting. And it is painting rather than other art forms such as printmaking or sculpture that dominates contemporary art. Interestingly, this new dynamism is not led or formed by a group of young, emerging artists. The artists in this exhibition range in age from 26 to 73. They are united by an interest in each other’s work, and age is no barrier to artistic friendship or new forms of expression. Nor, as the works on display clearly indicate, is there a common style which we could identify as a “Myanmar school”. Each artist has their own style and feels free to take their work in new directions. The contemporary art scene in Myanmar is highly individualistic. The artists come from many parts of Myanmar, but today most work in Yangon, in part due to the commercial opportunities offered in the country’s major city. Myanmar’s opening and transition to a democratic society has emboldened some artists to produce work that can be regarded as political and social commentary. Ten years ago 7
these works would have resulted in the artist serving time in gaol. For example, Aung Kyi Soe’s Blind Knowledge (2015) is a comment on the first government elected under the new Constitution. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy boycotted the 2010 election, believing it would not be free and fair. This enabled the military party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), to be successful and the mostly former soldiers, now wearing civilian clothes, formed government under the reformist President Thein Sein. Blind Knowledge questions whether there has been democratic change by portraying a man wearing the standard clothes of Myanmar officialdom – the white collarless tike pone jacket with fastenings down the front – on top of his green military uniform. The figure is making a military salute. Aung Kyi Soe goes further by portraying the head as a bird cage with a canary in it, implying a closed mind and a lack of freedom of thought. As if this were not enough, he humiliates the figure by painting him naked from the waist down. Such a work, publicly displayed in a commercial Yangon gallery, would have been unthinkable prior to 2013. And even today it is not without risk. In December 2015, the activist Chaw Sandi Tun was jailed for six months after she was found guilty of insulting the country’s army and the colour of its new uniform when she posted a photocollage on social media. The image linked the colour of the army’s new uniform to that of a longyi (sarong) worn by Aung San Suu Kyi. While powerful works such as Blind Knowledge appeal to international collectors in search of meaning and messages in art, Myanmar artists have not drawn on their years of oppression to a great extent. Aung Kyi Soe himself cannot be typecast as a protest or political activist artist as he has a varied repertoire. Indeed, Myanmar artists are largely not making political statements, whether that be about the environment, the ongoing role of the military in Myanmar’s society, the situation in Rakhine State, labour conditions, the ongoing conflict in many parts of the country or the scourge of drugs that continues to afflict many parts of the country. There may be a degree of self-censorship when it comes to portraying the military, but essentially the artists view themselves as artists and nothing else. For now at least, most of them do not see the purpose of their work as putting the spotlight on social or political issues. Most Myanmar artists, be they traditional or contemporary, are simply interested in painting. Many Myanmar artists continue to produce romanticised pictures of rural Myanmar – bullock carts in the shade of a large tree on the plains of Bagan or an Inle Lake fisherman rowing his boat with his legs while handling a wicker fish trap – and these are commonly 8
Aung Kyi Soe Blind Knowledge, 2015 acrylic on canvas 120 x 90 cm Photo: David Lindesay
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watercolours or oil paintings. Painted in western style, the works are often technically strong and there is a good market for them primarily in the homes of Myanmar’s wealthy elite. Works of this sort have been produced for many decades, partly because they were a safe subject during the military regime and partly because they are liked. Training in western style techniques was introduced into Myanmar art schools during the 1920s and forms the basis for study at the government-run University of Fine Arts. This style of work does not feature in this exhibition as its focus is the new dynamism that is being expressed by many Myanmar artists, a number of whom received formal training at tertiary level. It might not be clear to those unfamiliar with Myanmar names that most of the artists whose work is in this exhibition are male. When discussing this apparent imbalance it is evident that many women do paint, but few exhibit publicly or pursue art as a primary career. It is not clear why this is so. While women have been excluded from the military and consequently military appointments to senior government and militaryrun businesses, they have flourished in other sectors and today women dominate the education and health professions, and there is a strong cohort of female entrepreneurs and women in the IT sector. Women also play a strong role within Myanmar families. Painting is an activity that is essentially self-employment and it would seem that there are no formal entry barriers to an artistic career. Attitudes and expectations that women support the family including through paid employment, rather than pursue their own interests, might explain the paucity of professional female artists. But further research on this topic is required before reaching any firm conclusion. Female artists represented in this exhibition are Sandar Khaing, Ohn Ohn and Chuu Wai Nyein. Yangon has numerous commercial galleries and artist studios selling art works. Works of art by a particular artist are usually priced by size. For example, if an artist has an exhibition with two works 60cm x 60cm they will be priced equally, irrespective of any aesthetic difference between them. Similarly, a larger work always costs more than a smaller work by the same artist. The size of works is fairly standard reflecting standard canvas sizes. Talking with artists the choice of size is often random and may come down to what they have at hand or what they can afford. The number of practicing artists is unknown but growing rapidly. A small number of Myanmar artists are doing extremely well financially. A successful artist can confidently 10
Chu Wai Nyein Alternative Truth,2017 newspaper and acrylic on canvas 46 x 46 cm Photo: David Lindesay
charge upwards of US$1,200 for a large art work (90 x 90cm, 120 x 80cm), and this single work is equivalent to Myanmar’s gross domestic product per capita. Their ability to charge relatively high prices reflects the asymmetry in the market. While the art producer is from a very low-income country, the art buyer is often a first world, high income, expatriate assigned to Myanmar for a period of years. Myanmar’s opening from 2011 has not only given artists greater artistic freedom, it has also resulted in a surge in the number of foreigners living in Yangon, some of whom are curious about the art being produced. Today, for example, there are 50 per cent more diplomatic missions in the country compared with prior to the opening. And the number of international businesses and NGOs, and their size, has exploded over recent years. Gallery owners take a commercial share of the price, but this is not consistent. Some galleries are run as artist cooperatives, some are in private spaces where running costs are low. Artists rarely have exclusive contracts restricting sale through a single gallery. Rather, the commercial side of the market is driven by informal relationships and networks. As the market is developing, such ad hoc arrangements are slowly changing. 11
The proliferation of gallery spaces seen in 2015-16 has slowed as the market starts to consolidate. Downtown rents have increased dramatically and this has negatively affected the growth in artist-run spaces. Tourists are also customers for Myanmar art and there are numerous shops selling paintings in Bogyoke Aung San Market, a market visited by almost every holiday maker in the country. Some of the works sold in these shops replicate, at a lower price, the style of the more famous artists. Others are endless variations on a theme such as three monks in line receding down a path. These are legitimate works of art painted by individual artists and should not be dismissed out of hand. Renaissance artists painted endless versions of Madonna with Child, and we don’t dismiss these on the grounds of being derivative or lacking originality. Artists set the price for their work, and it is generally a fixed price. If you want the painting you pay what is asked. In assessing the value of a work, the buyer can have regard to the purchase price and to what the artist’s work (of comparable size) is currently selling for. This is quite different from other art markets where a vibrant secondary market exists. Contemporary Myanmar paintings have featured in some public auction sales. To date the volumes have been small and the range of artists sold are few, giving little guidance about real market values. The collector of contemporary Myanmar art is therefore either an art lover buying art for art’s sake, or a speculator hoping that Myanmar artists are on the cusp of a grand discovery by the international community leading to a surge in prices. Most of the works in this exhibition come from private collections in Australia and Hong Kong and reflect the strong personal interests of each collector. While every effort has been made to ensure the exhibition highlights the diversity of Myanmar’s contemporary painting scene, it must be acknowledged that it only touches on the breadth of styles, interests, concepts and complexities that characterise Myanmar’s current artistic practices. As the first exhibition of Myanmar contemporary paintings to be held in Australia since Myanmar embarked on the road to democracy our hope with the exhibition is that it will generate greater awareness of the new dynamism in art that is flowering as Myanmar relaxes its strictures on society and its artists.
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Ohn Ohn The Gift from Alawaka, 2014 acrylic on canvas 122 x 91 cm
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Htoo Aung Kyaw Lola Hasta, 2017 acrylic on canvas 90 x 121 cm Photo: David Lindesay
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The Exhibition Myanmar has a long history of rich visual cultural traditions. This is readily seen today at Bagan, the first great Burman kingdom which flourished from the 11th – 13th centuries. The temples that still remain offer ample evidence of the Ten Pan (Flowers), the principal arts and crafts of Myanmar that were codified during the Bagan period. One of the Ten Pan is painting. The importance of painting is clearly seen in the remains of the mural paintings that adorn the temple interiors. Artists created extraordinary narratives of Buddhist stories and filled every space with complex decorative motifs. This tradition of temple mural painting continued over the centuries and it remains a valued skill today. The introduction of western painting techniques was relatively late in the colonial period and art schools opened only in the 1920s. The government established the University of Fine Arts in Yangon and later, Mandalay. Instruction in painting, drawing and sculpture were the main areas. Contemporary art remains dominated by painting. Why? The answer certainly involves a number of factors. Apart from the long history of and the strong cultural connection to this medium, Myanmar’s recent past restricted experimentation in the arts – a combination of censorship, poor economic conditions and international isolation severely limited artists’ abilities to freely express themselves, access markets and engage with worldwide artistic developments. For almost fifty years the 1964 Library, Museum and Exhibitions Monitoring Act provided the legal basis for the Myanmar Government’s censorship of the visual arts. Introduced after the 1962 coup the Act set out a number of broad and subjective principles that gave the Censorship Board wide discretionary power. Overtly political works and nude images were not allowed to be exhibited, nor were works painted in red, black or white. Red was the colour of communism and, from 1988, the colour of the 15
National League for Democracy’s flag. Black signified negativity while white symbolised the flower Aung San Suu Kyi wore in her hair. After some relaxation of censorship laws in the early 1980s the 1988 Uprising heralded another period of severe oppression and censorship in the arts sector. Any works that showed a dominance of these colours was scrutinised by censors and regularly excluded from public exhibition. Artists who attempted the public display of such works were sanctioned and faced arrest. Indeed, many artist/activists were jailed in the early years of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) rule, and public display of contemporary art was heavily scrutinised. In 1997 SLORC was disbanded and reconstituted as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and there was a softening of such hard line censorship. However, all exhibitions needed approval of a government censor and the reasons for censoring works were obtuse. Through to the late 2000s artists were under close watch and there was almost no communication between artists in Myanmar and the rest of the world. Access to materials was extremely limited and public display spaces closely monitored. Few tourists visited and the local market for contemporary art was almost non-existent. Painting was a convenient medium – canvasses could be reused, it was possible to paint on cloth, paintings could be secreted away if needed. Artists had to make difficult decisions – paint ‘safe’ scenes and continue to exhibit, or paint in secret and have no public voice. The rationale for censoring works was never made clear. Two works by Soe Naing are included in this exhibition. It would be difficult to see them in any way as political works. And yet, in 1995, the Censorship Board banned an earlier work in similar style by Soe Naing that included a lone female figure among stick-like animal figures because they believed it represented Aung San Suu Kyi. His painting Shaking Head, Shaking Legs was banned because the Censorship Board felt the title was suggestive of socio-political criticism. In 2013 the Act was substantially amended and the regulations now are primarily (but not solely) concerned with the safety and organisation of exhibitions. The Censorship Board no longer previews each exhibition to establish its suitability for public display (Carlson, 2016). Yet perhaps this period of censorship and long history of creating and reading visual narratives helped artists to embed their works with subtle messages. As Myanmar moves through its transition to democracy, artists are testing the boundaries of censorship. 16
Soe Naing The Little Creature on the Horse, 2014 oil on canvas 76 x 76 cm Photo: David Lindesay
Soe Naing Untitled, 2016 acrylic on canvas 120 x 90 cm Photo: David Lindesay
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Messages are becoming more overt within their work. However, there are readings within images that are not readily recognisable by outsiders, and this is a subject we wish to address in this exhibition. As we study the works, the complex diversity of styles and forms, we must consider not only what we see, but also what we might read as we look for the stories that many of these works can tell. This exhibition and exhibition catalogue groups works of art by several broad themes that reflect the major preoccupations of the artists and are key topics explored by contemporary artists in Myanmar today.
Ko Ko Naing Yangon Life, 2015 acrylic on canvas 76 x 121 cm Photo: David Lindesay
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Urban life and landscapes Yangon’s tea shops, market places and colonial era quarter remain, even in the postmilitary era, a popular subject for Yangon-based artists. Tea shops and market places are locations where men and women, respectively, gather as part of their daily routine and use the occasion to discuss politics and current affairs or simply to gossip. Images of urban life and urban landscapes of old Yangon are “safe” subjects for artists, and popular among tourists wishing to bring home a memory of the Yangon they have experienced. While the subject matter is a common one, Yangon-based artists have approached it with a variety of perspectives. Sue Htet Aung usually works in the neutral colours black, grey and white and applies his paint with a palette knife. His Yangon Night Market (2013) and Yangon Street Sellers (2015) are fine examples of his urban life painting and his interest in Yangon’s night markets. In Yangon Night Market he uses the darkness of the night and the shadows cast by market lights to convey a sense of a pocket of activity in an otherwise still evening. The street vendors in Yangon Street Sellers on a wet, monsoonal night and the pedestrians streaming by are barely distinguishable. Viewed from the level of the footpath, we see only the lower half of the pedestrians creating a strong sense of distance between the vendor and the passing foot traffic. The dark colours and indistinct shapes convey the plight of the vendors eking out a living on the streets. The darkness of the image accentuates the anonymity of the lowest and most vulnerable among Yangon’s highly stratified society. Sue Htet Aung captures these scenes which have long been part of Myanmar culture. However, as the country modernises there are real fears that the street market culture will be lost. 19
Sue Htet Aung The Yangon Night Market 2013 acrylic on canvas 91 x 122 cm Photo: David Lindesay
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Yangon’s markets are the subject also of Win Tint’s painting The Street Sellers in Yangon (2013). Unlike Sue Htet Aung’s works, his markets are full of daytime colour with bright umbrellas and produce for sale. The warm colours convey the daytime heat while the anonymous forms of the vendors are depicted in blocks of darker colours. As in Sue Htet Aung’s Night Market series, the viewer is denied a sense of connection with the vendors. They form a part of daily life, but we don’t get to know them. The work of Than Htay could not be more different. He is a talented colourist willing to juxtapose intense pastels and even bolder colours. His experimentation with colours is pushed to an extreme in his Life on York Street. The colonial-era name York Street remains in popular use although the street was renamed Yaw Min Gyi Street following Burma’s independence in 1948. Yaw Min Gyi Street is immediately north of Bogyoke Aung San Market and beyond Yangon’s colonial quarter. With a variety of shops and restaurants, it is popular with younger expatriates working for international organisations
Than Htay Life on York Street, 2013 acrylic on canvas 122 x 91 cm Photo: David Lindesay
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and the younger Myanmar middle class with a more cosmopolitan outlook. While Sue Htet Aung and Win Tint’s angle of vision is the footpath, Than Htay’s Life on York Street is viewed from the 5th floor balcony of Nawaday Tharlar Gallery. The iridescent colours create a surreal, pulsing portrait of a toxic city. There is no old courthouse or temple or anything immediately recognisable in this work. Without the crutch of sentimentality, the artist has created a vibrant portrait of modern, metropolitan Yangon, a city of over five million people. And, as the use of the word “life” in Life on York Street suggests, the painting is not about buildings but about urban existence. The more recent work of Kaung Kyaw Khine also has an urban setting, but is focused on the people reading newspapers or, as in Waiting for… (2018), waiting patiently for public transport. Whether in a tea shop (At the Teashop, 2017) or at a bus stop, there are multiple figures grouped together but not engaged with each other. Their long faces convey what can be, for many of Yangon’s population, the tiresomeness and loneliness of urban life. The colours are in contrast to the often vibrant tones favoured by Myanmar artists. There has been significant rapid change in life for those in Yangon as the city modernises and not all change is for the better. Teashops and bus stops were places for gossip and chatting. Now, with many more people moving to Yangon, often without local family networks many are experiencing social isolation, a relatively new phenomenon. The theme of solitude, especially urban solitude, is throughout the work of Aung Kyi Soe. In his series, The Crows, which formed his third solo exhibition (March 2016) the urban landscape is often depicted as a construction or industrial site populated by crows rather than people. Perhaps one needs to spend some time in Yangon to appreciate the significance of crows. They are everywhere. And they scavenge shamelessly including picking over the carcasses of their main competitors, rats. In the exhibition catalogue for The Crows, Aung Kyi Soe says “some people, almost at their wits end for survival, live and behave like crows”. Some crows are “admirable and should be imitated, such as their determination and industrious nature, alert and cautious habits, protective group mentality, and adaptability to environment. On the other hand crows are sneaky, thieving, and selfish bullies who rejoice at others’ demise”. He added that some people, groups and organisations’ behaviours are comparable to the undesirable nature of the crows. “After being exposed to this experience day after day, I realize that it made a notable impact on not only my feelings but also my way of thinking”. He created this series to challenge people to interpret which aspect of the crow best reflects people’s nature. 22
Kaung Kyaw Khine Waiting for…, 2018 acrylic on canvas 107 x 152 cm Photo: David Lindesay
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Aung Kyi Soe paintings from The Crows and Living With Crows series in this exhibition convey a sense of alienation in the city. The Crows views a building construction site from the street level perspective of the pedestrian while Living With Crows depicts crows atop telegraph poles and rooftops. The crows perched on and flying above the girders and aerials are the only living thing in the pictures. The artist paints in black to convey the harshness of a transforming urban landscape as Yangon undergoes a construction boom. In The Crows the artist sees bold patterns created by the black steel girders, and has filled some of the spaces with colours creating a picture that echoes, but does not imitate, the work of Dutch abstract artist Piet Mondrian who reduced his images to geometric black lines and spaces, some coloured with the three primary colours red, blue and yellow. Ko Ko Naing’s Yangon Life (2015) contrasts the hard steel monochrome girders of the industrial-urban landscape with the softness of clothes in different colours hanging to dry above the tarpaulins of a squatter lean-to. The economic development of recent years has drawn many people from rural areas into Yangon in search of work, but it is far from an easy life for many.
Aung Kyi Soe The Crows, 2015 acrylic on canvas 90 x 90 cm Photo: David Lindesay
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Rural life and landscapes Rural life and landscapes continue to be popular subjects for artist and patron alike. Many artists romanticise bucolic rural scenes in paintings that are in many ways the product of their classical art training from the Yangon State School of Fine Arts. A graduate of the Yangon State School of Fine Arts, Christopher Tamalar (“Tamalar”) continues the tradition of painting landscapes, but has moved away from realism to a simplified style that highlights the patterns and colours found in the Myanmar landscape. Karen Landscape (2014) uses colours that evoke feelings of the mountains and lush vegetation. In his Landscape (2016) hills become conical mounds in shades of yellow and brown, and his trees are a collection of patterned discs also in warm hues. In Tamalar’s paintings, colours echo the environmental atmosphere and the orderly patterns of the environment and trees convey the timeless beauty of nature, undisturbed by people or animals. The landscapes of Han Tin Swe similarly have strong lines and a simplified landscape. Cowherd (2013) combines bold fauvist colours with a sweeping composition that draws in the viewer. Yan Naing Oo’s The Beauty of Nature (2013) and Than Htay’s Girl with buffalo (2015) also draw on bold colours to convey an impression of an expansive and cultivated 25
Yan Naing Oo The Beauty of Nature, 2013 acrylic on canvas 91 x 122 cm
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Myanmar landscape. These images suggest a timelessness of the rhythm of life that they represent. These scenes could be seen to romanticise rural life, yet there is also a sense of capturing what are rapidly changing landscapes. In contrast Dawei Lay’s paintings are predominantly about backbreaking agricultural work undertaken by women. His series Survival (2012, 2014) conveys the physical demands of agricultural work with the heads of the women workers shielded from the elements by straw conical hats. The anonymity of the figures adds to the sense of women’s work as tireless and unrecognised labour – without them, there would be no food. Other works in this series show the women working through the seasons and through all stages of rice production.
Tamalar Landscape, 2015 acrylic on canvas 60 x 44.5 cm Photo: David Lindesay
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Aung Khaing Taungmagyi Shin Nyo Nat, 2014 acrylic on canvas 60 x 45 cm
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Aung Khaing Min Sithu Nat, 2014 acrylic on canvas 60 x 45 cm
Beliefs The people of Myanmar are predominantly Theravada Buddhist, and alongside Buddhism exists a system of spirit worship associated with ancient animist beliefs. These spirits are known as nats. In animism, the principal nats are propitiated for assistance in worldly matters and nat shrines are a common sight in old banyan trees. Spirit festivals involving a spirit medium, loud music and frenzied dancing are held to lure nats. The pantheons of nats are complex, though a group known as the 37 nats are best known. Each nat has a history that resulted in their tragic end. Aung Khaing, one of the most senior artists featured in the exhibition, completed a series of these 37 in 2014. To those who know their stories the nats are readily identifiable by their iconography. Min Sithu Nat is the spirit representation of the great Bagan king, Alaungsithu (r.1113-1167). He was murdered by his son, Narathu. Min Sithu Nat is shown wearing his royal regalia, and in the pose with his right knee raised. Taungmagyi Shin Nyo Nat is depicted in a frenzied pose with weapons in his hands – he, and his brother Myauk Myin Shin Hpyu Nat, were feared by their king for their strength and he ordered them to fight each other to death. Depictions of nats are an important part of Myanmar’s cultural history. Shine Lu, in his series Buddha’s Face (2014), traces a chronology of recognisable artistic styles of Buddhist art from ancient Gandhara to the Mandalay style images of more recent times. His slow increase and fragmentary approach through time attests to the resilience of Buddhism though also acknowledges an inevitable decline in the goodness of mankind which will eventually see the coming of the future Buddha to help start a new world cycle. Co Thiee’s The Moment (2016) depicts a moment of deep devotion by a monk on the 29
tiled forecourt of a Buddhist pagoda. Co Thiee is drawn to themes of meritorious acts which include meditation and mindfulness – key elements of Buddhist practice. He has spoken of how his observation of monks and nuns brings peace and serenity, and the act of painting these scenes also brings to him personal inner happiness. In Kinnara and Kinnari (2016), Zaw Nyunt Pe has depicted the benevolent, half-human
Co Thiee The Moment, 2016 acrylic on canvas 122 x 91 cm Photo: David Lindesay
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half-bird mythological characters that are common to cultures across much of Southeast Asia. These creatures are usually shown having the head, torso and arms of a human and the wings, tail and feet of a bird or swan. The mythology about the male kinnara and female kinnari is of a pair inseparably in love. Their religious dimension derives from several of the Buddha’s many animal incarnations when he was born a kinnari, and the kinnari also appear as one of the 108 symbols on Buddha’s footprint. The kinnara and kinnari are also believed to have come to Myanmar from the Himalayas when Buddhism spread to the region. They are seen as compassionate spirits who watch over us. Ohn Ohn’s painting, The Gift from Alawaka (2014), depicts a carving of the ogre with bulging eyes and ears gently cradling in its flowing beard a white dove, symbolising the peacefulness of the convert. In Buddhist tradition, Alawaka was an ogre tamed and converted by the Buddha into a gentle disciple. This image is ubiquitous in Myanmar, appearing in the exterior decorations of temples and encircling stupas from the Bagan period to today. While the dove has long been the symbol of peace, love and of the messenger in Judaism and Christianity, it has in the post-World War Two period been appropriated by secular movements and international organisations as a universal symbol of peace and pacifism. It is interesting to see it used in a painting of a figure from Buddhist mythology. These paintings reflect the personal connection each artist has with their Buddhist beliefs and introduce some of the complex associated spiritual elements that exist within Burmese culture.
Social and political life
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Zwe Yan Naing Daw Su, 2016 acrylic on canvas, postage stamps 90 x 60 cm Photo: David Lindesay
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Since the relaxation of censorship laws artists, and gallery owners, have steadily become more confident about making and exhibiting art that has a clear political message. Many artists, like the vast majority of people in Myanmar, are ardent supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi and have painted images of her and her father, General Aung San. Zwe Yan Naing’s collage, Daw Suu (2016), is a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi wearing a string of pearls. From a distance she appears kind, gentle, and beatific. The image appears abstracted but on close viewing Zwe Yan Naing has created much of the picture using Myanmar postage stamps. This creates another level of meaning as the stamps represent the whole country and by extension Daw Suu is a symbol of all Myanmar. Zwe Yan Ning has also included an envelope on the cover which is addressed to a fellow artist, Aung Soe Min, who is also represented in this exhibition. It would not have been possible to show such a work only three years before it was created. Seen in this context, a simple portrait becomes a political statement. Political freedom and artistic freedom are linked as much art is, or can be seen to be, commentary on society. Aung Kyi Soe’s Travelling With Black Sheep (2014) is, from a series intended by the artist to be political/social commentary. In the brochure for its exhibition, Aung Kyi Soe said that differences in beliefs, religion, race, skin colour and cultures have had a huge impact on the increase in conflicts around the world, including in Myanmar. He, however, believes in differences and that “the real problem is when we try and make those and things that are different or unique conform to sameness”. He said he chose to embody this idea into that of a sheep: “whether they are white or black, they eat and live in the same field with the same goals. Nature’s beauty is that of differences.” (artist’s biographical statement (2017) 33
Aung Kyi Soe Travelling with Black Sheep, 2014 acrylic on canvas 152 x 107 cm
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supplied by Nawaday Tharlar Gallery). Highlighting the importance of appreciating cultural difference, Aung Kyi Soe uses sheep to stress individualism rather than a herd mentality. Here the sheep may work together, but with one turned towards us looking though bars, it reminds us that even when freedom is limited we always retain our sense of personal self. Similarly, the image of two water buffaloes with locked horns in a struggle to the death (Aung Kyi Soe’s Bullfight) might not seem like political or social commentary. The image, however, references a Burmese saying which roughly translates as “when the buffaloes fight the grass gets trampled” referring to political power struggles in which the ordinary people, the “grass roots”, are the victims. The tension created by the two massive beasts with their locked horns and fixed, vacant gaze leaves no doubt about the power of the opposing sides, nor about their stubbornness and the futility of conflict in the resolution of issues. The blood flying in the air, smattered on the beasts themselves and sprayed on the trodden grass also leaves no doubt that power struggles are not victimless. The painting can be seen as a metaphor for the ongoing struggles for dominance between the military, who retain considerable coercive and economic power, and armed ethnic minorities with some of whom they remain in open conflict. It can also be seen as a metaphor for the struggle to continue Myanmar’s democratic transition by amending the Constitution to reduce the military’s presence in Parliament and to remove the constitutional barrier to Aung San Suu Kyi being elected as President. Aung Kyi Soe’s Blind Knowledge (2015), another of his politically charged paintings, is described earlier in this catalogue (page 8). The artist said the series Blind Knowledge expresses the view that “people who have no knowledge and whose knowledge are locked can destroy the nation and the people by trying to block other people[‘s] knowledge too”. 35 Aung Soe Min’s Buddhism in Crisis (2014) is a strong work depicting a haunting, skeletal figure painted in black and white draped with a red-maroon coloured robe of a Myanmar monk. The black and white colours of the figure and the fiery robe suggest immolation and the failure of the so-called Saffron Revolution of 2007. This event saw Myanmar’s monks take to the streets in their thousands to protest against the military dictatorship’s sudden removal of fuel subsidies leading to a doubling of the fuel price, adding to the economic hardship already being experienced in Myanmar. Many monks were shot and 35
Aung Soe Min Crisis of Buddhism, 2014 acrylic on canvas 120 x 90 cm Photo: David Lindesay
killed in an act that shocked deeply Buddhist Myanmar. Aung Soe Min grew up in a small town and Buddhism was the only religion. He questions the conditioning that one religion brings and reflects on the culture of conditioning and how it can become self-destructive. He has keenly considered the rise of Buddhist extremism in Myanmar since the 1988 Uprising. It is through his painting that he is best able to express his feelings about what he had seen and thought over many years. He reflects on ignorance, enlightenment and cultural conditioning and the colours indicate 36
these notions and ideas. His more recent series Crisis of Buddhism - Three Circles (2018) questions how we can overcome cultural conditioning – at what time, when and where – which he sees as a question in Buddhism of past, present, future and for him all are related to a philosophy of time. The three circles represent the head, body and base – each build on each other and can negate the in-between. When viewed from a distance we only see the forms, when we get closer the three elements. Aung Soe Min considers Buddhist philosophy noting that in 2014 before the elections there were clashes between religions and when the government tried to solve the problem, more problems were created. He dwells on Buddhist teachings whereby if you do good it happens naturally, without force, and when things are forced it cannot be done rationally or achieve a good outcome. The titles of the works by Myint Soe, The Silent Yangon University (2016) and The Controlled Education (2016) are statements of the artist’s views on the damage done to Myanmar’s education system. Under military rule, and continuing today, primary and secondary school instruction is by rote learning, and obedience rather than questioning is favoured. In the years following the 1988 students’ protests, the country’s leading university – Yangon University – ceased teaching undergraduate classes and the university was split into specialist universities created on the distant outskirts of Yangon and in remote rural areas. According to the artist “Yangon University, one of the most important places for the education is dead and silent since the military took over the power in 1962”. Over the decades the military dictatorship controlled what could be taught and starved the education sector of resources. Myint Soe says that the government of Aung San Suu Kyi wants to improve the education system, but it “is still under the control of the military. In fact everything is still under control of the military.” (Artist’s statement supplied by Nawaday Tharlar Gallery, February 2019). Not included in this exhibition are the political works of urban landscape artist Sue Htet Aung. Following the peaceful transfer of political power to Aung San Suu Kyi in 2016, he painted a series of works seeking to capture the political power play that continues to pervade Myanmar’s politics. In this series, Aung San Suu Kyi is portrayed as striding
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Myint Soe The Silent Yangon University, 2016 acrylic on canvas 107 x 132 cm Photo: David Lindesay
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boldly among the oversized pieces of a chess board, symbolising her steadfastness and her need to strategise to implement successfully further democratic reforms.
Abstraction and individualism Myanmar’s contemporary art includes works that are abstract or reflect the individual preoccupations of artists, including portraiture. Portraits of women feature in the oeuvre of many artists. One of Myanmar’s leading female artists, Sandar Khaing, is noted for her large nude portraits of women such as The naked truth (2017) and The reader (2018). She likes to paint. Until 2012, the Censorship Board banned her paintings of female nudes from public display. But she kept painting. She has kept pushing the boundaries of restriction in Myanmar. Even today, most people in Myanmar think of nude art as a socially destructive subject. Buddhism demands an inherently modest mode of dress and code of conduct, and depicting the nude form is very confronting. Sandar Khaing likes to draw from live models. “I was never satisfied with drawing from pictures. Drawing a live model always gives satisfaction for my creation, but it is always very difficult to find a model for my work. Then I asked my family membersmy mom, my sister to sit as a model for me, but they became tired of always being models because I kept asking them. They also complained that what I had done were not paintings and asked why I was doing this kind of art, even though they sat as models for me to make me happy,” says Sandar Khaing. (Artist’s statement supplied by Nawaday 39
Tharlar Gallery, February 2019). Aung Khaing’s The Face (2014) depicts a Myanmar woman with the traditional thanaka, a paste made by grinding the bark of the thanaka tree with water on a stone disk, on her cheeks. Aung Khaing has repeatedly produced portrait figures using expressive gestural brushstrokes to create the image. Chuu Wai Nyein’s Alternative truth series (2017) feature a dominating, faceless female head as a statement of the strong, but behind the scenes and uncredited, role women play in Myanmar society and the contradictions that occur. She was motivated to address gender issues after her sister was assaulted. Working with mixed media Chuu Wai Nyein critiques the stereotypes of Myanmar women, often integrating well known symbols from a hierarchical past, such as types of hairstyles, where social behaviours and norms were tightly observed and not questioned. Htoo Aung Kyaw’s Art and Narrative (2013) is inspired by the culture of the ancient Pyu and Bagan eras in Myanmar history and he uses these symbols to address his contemporary concerns. He chose an image of the Buddha’s mother, Maya, from the 11th century Ananda temple. This image is important to Htoo Aung Kyaw – “it represents the time just prior to Buddha’s birth when Queen Maya has asked King Suddhodana if she can travel to Lumbini for the birth. It is a very happy time for them, a time of positive emotion.” The word narrative is used to signal that the painting is a narrative of his thoughts and emotions. His second work Lola Hasta includes an image of Lokanat, symbolising loving kindness and sharing. This painting was difficult to finish. Htoo Aung Kyaw started it when he was not in a calm state of mind, he had not long been married and they were expecting a child. The colours, the red and dark tones were “too hot”. Htoo says “I started out with not a good mindset, then I think about it and I calmed down. Life is also like that, and I wanted to show loving kindness. This painting took two years to finish – it was a difficult time but then the loving kindness and love of the mother started to come through and I added lighter colours” (in conversation with the artist, February 2019). Htoo’s interest in the past stems from his childhood when there was no television or other distractions. He remembers listening to stories of the Buddha and gained great pleasure from this. The colour palettes of gold and blue represent his most pleasant times, while dark colours occur in his work when there are obstacles and difficulties. He includes images of the past to trace the links between history and the present. 40
A newspaper article in 2018 based on an interview with Soe Naing said the artist did not like people asking him what his paintings represent. Soe Naing is quoted as saying “I don’t like to define my paintings at all. Perhaps they think [paintings] are valuable only when they represent something. They are not satisfied when I say it is nothing”, (The Irrawaddy, 10 April 2018). While the artist might see the paintings as without deep meaning, they do have a style which includes representations of figures and animals including horses and dogs or the spirit medium. In Soe Naing’s The Little Creature on the Horse (2014) there is a figure part human, part something else (“the creature”), seated on a horse. The horse is still and appears to have emerged from a fog or the clouds, giving the painting a mystical aura. Soe Naing’s Untitled (2016) is one of his more recent works and is notable for its bold use of colour. The figure could be a spirit medium possessed by a nat in a high energy trance. The figure seems lost to the world. Capturing the frenzied figure in multiple brush strokes, the distorted outcome is reminiscent of paintings from Dutch-American abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning’s Woman series. De Kooning and American abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock were early inspirations for Soe Naing. For many years Soe Naing’s paintings were in more sombre shades of brown, and the spirit seemed camouflaged in the darkness of an old banyan tree. These earlier works were more haunting, while many of the more recent reveal the frenzy of a possessed medium. Soe Naing paints rapidly, finishing many works within a day. Eikaza Cho’s Untitled (2014) resembles a circuit board but within the intricate geometric patterns there can be discerned symbols from traditional Indian and Myanmar mythology. Here, a chinthe, or lion, is integrated into the circuitry. These abstracted forms create a degree of fantasy within the painting but by using a familiar symbol it provides a link to Myanmar culture. Eikaza Cho is also a cartoonist. He prefers semi-abstraction as he can draw on his imagination rather than interpret a physical scene.
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Eikaza Cho Untitled, 2014 acrylic on canvas 91 x 121 cm Photo: David Lindesay
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Contributing artists Aung Khaing, b.1945, Yangon Region From an early stage in his career, Aung Khaing was interested in modern art despite its lack of popularity in Myanmar. Throughout the 1970s, he exhibited his work in group exhibitions and in 1984 attempted to hold his first solo exhibition at Bogyoke Aung San market, but all 120 works were rejected by the censorship board. He went back to drawing illustrations to make a living, and only re-emerged on the art scene in 2010. Aung Khaing had successful solo exhibitions in 2013 and 2014, and has also exhibited in the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre. Aung Kyi Soe, b.1979, Magwe Region Aung Kyi Soe studied basic art theories and techniques under various local masters. He moved to Yangon in 2003 and ever since has had a love-hate relationship with the city. Many of his paintings capture the friction in Yangon. He has held numerous solo shows since 2013, all exploring themes of the city and society. He has also participated in more than 70 group shows in Myanmar, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, New Zealand, the UK and the US. 43
Aung Soe Min, b.1970, Mandalay Region Aung Soe Min is one of the leading figures in the Yangon art scene and is co-owner of Pansodan Gallery in Yangon. A semi-abstract artist Aung Soe Min is particularly interested in issues affecting harmony within Myanmar society. Co Thiee, b.1963, Yangon Region In the 1990s, Co Thiee was employed as an illustrator, graphic designer and film director. He turned to painting in 2000, making it his professional career in 2006. Recent works have been done by palette knife. His work explores the Buddhist idea of “KuTho” meaning “meritorious deeds”. His aim is to share the feeling of “happiness” and “meritorious deeds” he feels when he sees purity and peacefulness in others. His nature of beauty series are mostly landscapes of Shan State and Chin State. His work has been exhibited in more than 30 group shows, including in Hong Kong, Singapore, China and the United States. Chuu Wai Nyein, b.1992, Shan State Since 2007 Chuu Wai Nyein has studied under a number of Myanmar artists. She is a graduate from the Mandalay Technological University (2014) and the National University of Arts and Culture Mandalay (2016). A self-proclaimed feminist artist, she has been painting for over ten years and has been curating exhibitions for three years. Dawei Lay, b.1982, Tanintharyi Ragion Dawei Lay attended the Yangon State School of Fine Arts (1998-2001). He has participated in over 40 group shows in Myanmar and overseas, and has had four solo exhibitions. His paintings focus on everyday agricultural life in Myanmar. Eikaza Cho, b.mid 1960s, Shan State Eikaza Cho is an artist and cartoonist and has a wide portfolio of works. Born in Hsipaw, Shan State in the mid-1960s he is an artist and a cartoonist often tackling political themes and current affairs. His paintings are mostly based on line, and seek to express an idea through very quick representation on canvas. He lives and works in Dagon, close to Yangon.
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Han Tin Swe, b.1958, Ayeyarwady Region Han Tin Swe worked as a book and magazine illustrator for many years before becoming an active member of Vision Gallery in 1995. He held his first solo exhibition at Pansodan Gallery in 2015. His strongly composed landscape paintings in vibrant primary colours evoke not only the Myanmar landscape, but also the timelessness of everyday rural life. Htoo Aung Kyaw, b.1978, Mandalay Region Htoo Aung Kyaw studied philosophy at Meiktila University and painting at the School of Fine Arts in Yangon. His abstract expressionist art is inspired by the culture of the ancient Pyu and Bagan eras in Myanmar history and he draws on links between the past and present, particularly reflecting on Buddhism, yet also incorporates many contemporary themes. Kaung Kyaw Khine, b.1982, Rakhine State After finishing high school, Kaung Kyaw Khine attended Yangon State School of Fine Arts (2003-2006). Much of his work depicts the traditional Rakhine big drum and dance, and close ups of Rakhine tribespeople. In addition to being a painter, Kaung Kyaw Khine is a Rakhine dance teacher and drum master. His 2017 series, At the Tea Shop, expresses his view on how tea shops unite people through social, cultural and social ties. His 2018 solo exhibition, Waiting for‌, portrays people as always waiting for something in an uncertain life. His work has also been shown internationally in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, USA, New Zealand, France and now Australia. Ko Ko Naing, b.1960, Mon State Ko Ko Naing began his career as a designer and illustrator of books, magazines and posters, after learning to paint from his father and grandfather. He has held a number of solo exhibitions of his paintings in recent years and is known for his urban scenes. He has participated in a number of group shows and has exhibited with British artist Kate Bowen and Dutch artist Ietje Preel. Myint Soe, b.1953, Bago Region Myint Soe graduated from the University of Yangon with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology around 1983. He worked as a commercial artist and often expresses views on social, political and environmental issues. In 2014 some of the works from his Bridge and a 45
Nyeit Dancer series were shown in the exhibition “Banned in Burma: Painting Under Censorship” at the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre. A great believer in the importance of education, Myint Soe runs from his home a free school for children from poor families. Education also features prominently in his paintings. Myint Soe also does installation art and his Kyo installation art exhibition in 2016 at Nawaday Tharlar gallery was a commentary on social, political, and environmental issues. Ohn Ohn, b.1977, Myanmar A graduate of Yangon Technological University and Yangon Institute of Economics, Ohn Ohn participated for the first time in a group show at the age of 35. She has since participated in ten group shows in Myanmar and internationally, and has held two solo exhibitions. Sandar Khaing, b.1971, Yangon Region Sandar Khaing is one of Myanmar’s leading female artists. Her paintings are predominantly large portraits of large, naked women. She likes to draw from life. Because of the subject matter, until 2012 the Censorship Board banned the public display of her works. Her work has been shown in more than 35 exhibitions locally and internationally in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand and the US. Shine Lu, b.1959, Bago Region Shine Lu studied at the State School of Fine Arts in Yangon (1982) and has been exhibiting paintings in Myanmar since 1987 and overseas since 2000. He has participated in over 60 group shows, including internationally in Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia and the US. He works in a variety of mediums including water colours and oils. In recent years, Buddha’s face has been the main subject of his work. Soe Naing, b.1961, Yangon Region Soe Naing is a prolific artist well known for painting quirky abstracted figures in a highly expressionist style, boldly utilising colour. With impulsive, bold brush strokes his figures of people and strange anthropomorphic figures are sometimes barely discernible. He has held over 45 solo exhibitions and participated in over 100 group shows.
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Sue Htet Aung, b.1965, Yangon Region Sue Htet Aung started his career as a graphic illustrator, writing and illustrating graphic novels under the name ‘Sue’. When the graphic novel industry in Myanmar started to decline, he switched to painting where he found freedom and independence of expression. His work focuses on night scenes of teashops and markets in Yangon, places where people gather for socialising, to discuss current affairs, or simply to gossip. He paints in mostly impasto style and has participated in over 30 group shows and two solo shows in Myanmar. Internationally, his work has been exhibited in four group shows in Hong Kong. Christopher August Tamalar, b.1978, Mon State Tamalar studied at the State School of Fine Arts in Yangon (2001-2004). His landscapes are vibrant, multilayered and textured. In his series Welcome to Karen, Tamalar paints layers of textured trees in warm hues in a somewhat naive style. He has held one solo exhibition (Yangon, 2014) and participated in over 30 group shows internationally and in Myanmar. Than Htay, b.1958, Yangon Region Than Htay first started painting in middle school and, after the 1988 military repression of student activism, moved to Japan to paint and exhibit his work. He met with some success in Japan, winning second, third and the Mayor’s prize at the Urayasu Township Exhibition in Chiba District. Between 1998 and 2003 he held one man shows in Tokyo, and between 1996 and 2004 exhibited at Tokyo Museum with the Japan International Artists club, winning prizes for best painting and best technique. His work has been shown in more than 90 group exhibitions and 20 solo exhibitions in Myanmar, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Korea and the United States. Win Tint, b.1966, Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory Win Tint attended the State School of Fine Arts in Yangon (1983-1986) and currently teaches there. In 2004 he was a finalist in the Myanmar Contemporary Art Awards. He has had five solo exhibitions and participated in more than 80 group shows in Myanmar, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, New Zealand and the United States of America. 47
Yan Naing Oo, b.1979, Yangon Region Yan Naing Oo attended the Yangon State School of Fine Arts (1996-2000). He worked as an illustrator before becoming a full-time artist. His stylised landscape paintings are characterised by the vibrancy of his colour palette. Zaw Nyunt Pe, b.1967, Ayeyarwady Region Zaw Nyunt Pe was born in Pathein, Ayeyarwady Region. He studied at the State School of Fine Arts in Yangon (1981-1984). A mid-career artist he has exhibited in solo and group shows in Myanmar and in group exhibitions in India and the USA. Zwe Yan Naing, b.1984, Rakhine State Zwe Yar Naing studied at the State School of Fine Arts (2006-2009). His work often takes inspiration from Myanmar’s post-war history with images of Bogyoke Aung San, Aung San Suu Kyi and the 1988 uprising. He was the winner of the 2017 International Artist Grande Competition at the Art Revolution Taipei (A.R.T) exhibit in Taiwan, with a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi.
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Artworks Aung Khaing The Face 2014 acrylic on canvas 46 x 61cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway
Aung Khaing Min Sithu Nat 2014 acrylic on canvas 60 x 45 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway
Aung Khaing Min Sithu Nat 2014 acrylic on canvas 60 x 45 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway 49
Aung Kyi Soe Travelling with Black Sheep 2014 acrylic on canvas 152 x 107 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway
Aung Kyi Soe Blind Knowledge 2015 acrylic on canvas 120 x 90 cm Collection of Nicholas Coppel
Aung Kyi Soe Bullfight 2016 Shan paper and acrylic on canvas 120 x 120 cm Collection of Nicholas Coppel
Aung Kyi Soe The Crows 2015 90 x 90 cm acrylic on canvas Collection of Nicholas Coppel 50
Aung Kyi Soe The Crows 2015 acrylic on canvas 90 x 90 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway
Aung Soe Min Crisis of Buddhism 2014 acrylic on canvas 120 x 90 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway
Aung Soe Min Crisis of Buddhism – Three Circles 2017 acrylic on canvas 120 x 90 cm Courtesy of Pan Sodan Gallery, Yangon
Chu Wai Nyein Alternative Truth 2017 newspaper and acrylic on canvas 46 x 46 cm Courtesy of Nawaday Tharlar Gallery, Yangon 51
Chu Wai Nyein Alternative Truth 2017 newspaper and acrylic on canvas 46 x 46 cm Courtesy of Nawaday Tharlar Gallery, Yangon
Co Thiee The Moment 2016 acrylic on canvas 122 x 91 cm Courtesy of Nawaday Tharlar Gallery, Yangon
Dawei Lay Survival 2012 acrylic on canvas 91 x 121 cm Collection of Ian Holliday
Eikaza Cho Untitled 2014 acrylic on canvas 91 x 121 cm Collection of Ian Holliday 52
Han Tin Swe Cowherd 2013 acrylic on canvas 122 x 91 cm Collection of Ian Holliday
Han Tin Swe Landscape 2013 acrylic on canvas 90 x 90 cm Collection of Ian Holliday
Htoo Aung Kyaw Narrative 2013 acrylic on canvas 90 x 121cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway
Htoo Aung Kyaw Lola Hasta 2017 acrylic on canvas 90 x 121 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway 53
Kaung Kyaw Khine Waiting for… 2018 acrylic on canvas 107 x 152 cm Collection of Nicholas Coppel Kaung Kyaw Khine At the Teashop 2017 acrylic on canvas 90 x 90 cm Collection of Rebecca Powell
Ko Ko Naing Yangon Life 2015 acrylic on canvas 76 x 121 cm Courtesy of Nawaday Tharlar Gallery, Yangon
Myint Soe The Silent Yangon University 2016 acrylic on canvas 107 x 132 cm Courtesy of Nawaday Tharlar Gallery, Yangon 54
Myint Soe The Controlled Education 2016 acrylic on canvas 61 x 152 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway
Ohn Ohn The Gift from Alawaka 2014 acrylic on canvas 122 x 91 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway
Sandar Khaing The Naked Truth 2017 acrylic on canvas 76 x 61 cm Courtesy of Nawaday Tharlar Gallery, Yangon
Sandar Khaing The Reader 2018 acrylic on canvas 122 x 91 cm Courtesy of Nawaday Tharlar Gallery, Yangon 55
Shine Lu The Buddha’s face 2014 acrylic on canvas 122 x 91cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway
Soe Naing The Little Creature on the Horse, 2014 oil on canvas 76 x 76 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway
Soe Naing Untitled 2016 acrylic on canvas 120 x 90 cm Collection of Nicholas Coppel
Sue Htet Aung The Yangon Night Market 2013 acrylic on canvas 91 x 122 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway 56
Sue Htet Aung Yangon Street Sellers 2015 acrylic on canvas 61 x 91 cm Collection of Nicholas Coppel
Tamalar Landscape 2015 acrylic on canvas 60 x 44.5 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway
Tamalar Karen Landscape 2014 acrylic on canvas 121 x 91 cm Collection of Ian Holliday
Than Htay Life on York Street 2013 acrylic on canvas 122 x 91 cm Collection of Nicholas Coppel 57
Than Htay Girl with buffalo 2015 acrylic on canvas 91 x 121 cm Collection of Ian Holliday Win Tint The Street Sellers in Yangon 2013 acrylic on canvas 61 x 76 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway
Yan Naing Oo The Beauty of Nature 2013 acrylic on canvas 91 x 122 cm Collection of Ian Holliday
Zaw Nyunt Pe Kinnara and Kinnari 2017 acrylic on canvas 90 x 90 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway 58
Zwe Yan Naing Daw Su 2016 acrylic on canvas, postage stamps 90 x 60 cm Collection of Charlotte Galloway
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Acknowledgements This exhibition and catalogue would not have been possible without the generous support of several people. Pyay Way, curator and gallery owner, Nawaday Tharlar Gallery, Yangon, helpfully sourced biographical details for many artists and provided several works for the exhibition. Professor Ian Holliday, Vice-President and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Teaching and Learning), University of Hong Kong, generously loaned works from his extensive collection of contemporary Myanmar art. His website (www.thukhuma.org) is a comprehensive source of artworks by many of those in the exhibition and a source of helpful biographical information on the artists. Rebecca Powell, Monash University, kindly loaned Kaung Kyaw Khine’s At the teashop, 2017. Most of the paintings in the exhibition are from the private collections of the exhibition curators, Charlotte Galloway and Nicholas Coppel. We would also like to acknowledge all the artists whose paintings are on display in this exhibition. We have met many of them over the last few years and it has been a privilege to hear their personal stories and start to understand the many meanings embedded in their works. Melissa Carlson’s “Painting as Cipher: Censorship of the Visual Arts in Post-1988 Myanmar” (Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, Vol. 32, No. 1, March 2016, pp.116-172) was a source of information on censorship of the arts in Myanmar, and Charlotte Galloway’s chapter on “Arts” (Adam Simpson, Nicholas Farrelly, Ian Holliday (eds) Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Myanmar, Routledge: Abbingdon, 2018 pp.136-145) provided contextual information. At the ANU School of Art & Design Gallery we thank Emma Beer for her preparation of works for exhibition, and Megan Hinton and Saskia Scott for their calm organisation of the exhibition and catalogue. Nicholas Coppel and Dr Charlotte Galloway 61
Copyright the authors Charlotte Galloway and Nicholas Coppel. All images are copyright of the artist. Curators: Dr Charlotte Galloway and Nicholas Coppel Senior Gallery Coordinator: Megan Hinton Gallery Administrator: Saskia Scott ISBN 978-0-9876311-2-1
School of Art & Design Gallery College of Arts and Social Sciences Australian National University http://soad.cass.anu.edu.au
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