To look at Htein Lin, his easy gait, his ready smile, you would never think he spent years wallowing in a Burmese jail on death row as a political prisoner. The evidence against him was flimsy and when he was released in 2004, it emerged that he had somehow managed to paint over 1000 canvases.
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| Htein Lin, General Aung San, 2005 |
In 'Waiting for Food', figurative prisoners sit holding up bowls, their eyes wide and their eyes plaintive. Other works are more abstract. 'Map of Rat' is more a mosaic, suggesting the chaotic path of a rat travelling around his cell in search of food.
Exhibition in London
That Htein Lin was able to make his work at all is the most remarkable part of this story. He painted after lights out, his fellow prisoners engaging in a remarkable array of secret warnings to let him know if a guard was coming. Sometimes the guards themselves were sympathetic and helped him with materials.
Considering the ongoing tensions in Burma, rare insights into modern Burma like Htein Lin's are likely to be in great demand. His works have been on showat an exhibition entitled 'Htein Lin: Burma Inside Out', at Asia House in London were he is now based.
Tags: art, Asia House, Burma, exhibition, Htein Lin, Myanamr, painter, prison