Interviews

Painting the transition

The Thukhuma Collection focuses on Myanmar’s transitional decade of the 2010s. With that decade passing into history, an opportunity arises to examine it through the paintings exhibited here. We thus reached out to some of the 120 or so artists in the collection and invited them to talk about one of their own artworks. We asked why they’d chosen or ...
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Zwe Mon

Why did you choose this painting? I chose this painting because it’s my own style. This girl was born together with my elder son. Previously I’d worked so much as a ghost artist. Then U Aung Soe Min told me to stop doing that and develop my own style. I created this girl to represent me and Myanmar women. I ...
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Aung Htet Lwin

Why did you choose this painting? This painting was in my fourth solo show, ‘Two Hearts of Myanmar’. Yangon and Mandalay are generally thought to be our most important cities. Both were once the capital. The show focused on heritage. I spent a month painting outdoors in Mandalay. I wanted to put more effort into some paintings, and felt satisfied ...
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Min Kyaw Swar

Why did you choose this painting? You can view this scene through the windows of Lokanat Gallery. There used to be street vendors selling old books. When I was young, there were long rows of bookshops on Pansodan and 37th Streets. It was known as the university of the street. As my family struggled financially, I worked for the vendors ...
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Kyaw Yin

Why did you choose this painting? This is an oil painting. I used a palette knife and no brush. It was raining as I worked on it, so I painted round strokes to look like rain drops. Once when I visited Eain Aye Kyaw’s apartment near Kyimyindaing night market, we stayed up the whole night. In the morning, I saw ...
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Hla Pa

Why did you choose this painting? I created this painting because I miss Myanmar’s vanishing culture. Before modern technology and communications, this would have been the life of mothers and babies. The mother would sing lullabies or tell bedtime stories and mythological tales as she put her baby to sleep. In the stories, there would be vicious ogres, cute angels ...
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Aung Ko

Why did you choose this painting? At Thingyan 2010, there was a bomb explosion near Kandawgyi Kanpat Road. In my entire life, nothing like that had happened before. As I live on Bagaya Street, Sanchaung, I heard it clearly. During Thingyan, I usually take photos from my home on the sixth floor. I gain a different perspective on people moving ...
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Shwe Thein

Why did you choose this painting? This is a view I’ve known since I was young. I started painting boats in 2008. My father’s a trader, and I travelled with him on boats from fourth grade. We’d travel overnight to make it in time for the morning markets. He’d put seasonal products such as umbrellas, slippers and clothes on the ...
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Ba Khine

Why did you choose this painting? I painted a group of people going to the Ananda Pagoda festival in Bagan. I was born in Anya (Upper Myanmar) and raised in urban areas, so I like the character of Anya. Bagan is there, so I like its spirit. We Bamar travel in groups for pagoda festivals. In the villages, they use ...
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Min Wae Aung

Why did you create this painting? This is a painting of monks, which is my usual subject. In it, monks and novices are walking with umbrellas under the sun. The reason why I show their backs is because monks turn their backs on the human realm to achieve nirvana. Most of my shows are about monks. Before I went abroad, ...
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Ko Naung

Why did you create this painting? Three of my paintings were displayed at a group show in Lokanat Gallery in 2013. I sent this one to Ko Pyay Way for a fund for flood victims. I did it without brushes, only sponges. I used sponges in place of big brushes. I’ve been making abstract art for over 10 years. I ...
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