Monthly Archives: May 2020
Maung Myint Aung
Written on May 26, 2020 at 2:15 pm, by Ian Holliday
Why did you choose this painting? I used to stare at fat people when I was sitting in a teashop. I like their character, the way they walk, and their body shape. So I decided to draw them. I just wanted to draw images of fat people. Then I used them as a subject for…
MPP Ye Myint
Written on May 22, 2020 at 2:51 pm, by Ian Holliday
Why did you choose this painting? I wanted to say that our country is like a patient suffering from cancer. Sule Pagoda is in downtown Yangon. Pagodas are always peaceful and quiet. But Sule only gives you noise and chaos. It has to stand in the middle of all kinds of problems. All the cars….
Maw Thu Da Nu
Written on May 18, 2020 at 10:46 am, by Ian Holliday
Why did you choose this painting? I created this painting when new cars were imported during the U Thein Sein administration. It exists because of that era. Previously, we didn’t have new cars in Myanmar. But after 2013 they became quite common. In an indirect way, the painting shows the social, economic and political situation…
Htein Lin
Written on May 14, 2020 at 9:40 am, by Ian Holliday
Why did you choose this painting? When I was a political activist, we couldn’t print posters for ceremonies and protests. So the duty fell on me to draw everything. As a young man with strong political beliefs, I drew hundreds of pictures without sleep for two days. I’ve drawn peacocks more than anything else in…
Hla Phone
Written on May 11, 2020 at 1:48 pm, by Ian Holliday
Why did you choose this painting? The main reason is that some people fly in airplanes in the sky and some walk on the ground. I focus on the space in between. It gradually came into view for me. As you know, people commute under a complex maze of lampposts in Yangon. I used to…
Htoo Aung Kyaw
Written on May 10, 2020 at 1:28 pm, by Ian Holliday
Why did you choose this painting? I like Buddhist philosophy, and my paintings are influenced by Buddhist concepts. The Buddha said life is full of suffering, and people face trouble from birth to death. That’s what I wanted to say in this painting. While I was working on it, the political climate of our country…
Khin Zaw Latt
Written on May 5, 2020 at 10:15 am, by Ian Holliday
Why did you create this painting? In this painting there’s a slight smile on the Buddha’s face. I based it on a marble Buddha statue with patches of gold covering. I first got the idea when I visited a pagoda where people were putting gold plate on a marble statue. I started working on my…
Kay Moe Ko
Written on May 1, 2020 at 7:49 am, by Ian Holliday
Why did you choose this painting? When I was working on this series of paintings, I had a lot of issues in my private life. In these paintings, I mainly wanted to highlight red and black. Red is success and black is failure. I wanted success and failure to joust on the canvas. The colours,…