22022021, Yawnghwe Office in Exile

2021 - Sculpture (Sculpture)

95.89 x 73.66 cm

Sawangwongse Yawnghwe


22022021, Yawnghwe Office in Exile by Sawangwongse Yawnghwe belongs to a body of work made in response to the Myanmar military coup that began in February 2021. The work employs traditional Burmese textiles, which have been employed by protesters harnessing the power of old Myanmar lore. It is said that women’s bodies and the garments that cover them sap men of their power. In protests of the military coup, activists have embraced this superstition and hung women’s undergarments and longyis (long skirts) on clotheslines across streets to deter soldiers from entering protest zones. Many soldiers, unwilling to harm their chances on the frontlines, refuse to pass underneath the colorful fabrics. By including these textiles, the artist is not only indexing the protest events, but referencing the nature of oppression, and the role fear plays in power struggles. The work is a cultural tableau, bearing witness to the continuing military suppression of the democracy movement. Through this work, Yawnghwe also emphasizes his position as a Burmese artist and activist living in Europe, one who has the ability to make visible the ongoing struggle of Burma’s people to a broader network through his practice.


Sawangwongse Yawnghwe comes from the Yawnghwe royal family of Shan. His grandfather, Sao Shwe Thaik, was the first president of the Union of Burma (1948–1962) after the country gained independence from Britain in 1948. Shwe Thaik died in prison following the 1962 military coup by General Ne Win. Afterward, Yawnghwe’s family was driven into exile in Thailand, then later escaping to Canada, where Yawnghwe grew up. Yawnghwe’s painting and installation practice engages politics with reference to his family history as well as current and historical events in his country. Family photographs provide the basis for a pictorial language through which the artist calls attention to events in Myanmar, suggesting that existing archives cannot reveal a nation’s entire truth. In addition, Yawnghwe’s map works chart the conflicts between opioids, revolutionary armies, minority ethnicities, mining and gas pipelines, the armament of generals, as well as state genocide against its minorities. Yawnghwe’s work intends to bring discernible order to a complex political situation.


Colors:



Related works sharing similar palette

In Live To Tell, Artist Shayema Rahim Explores Her New Path
© » D MAGAZINE

In Live To Tell, Artist Shayema Rahim Explores Her New Path - D Magazine Skip to content Menu Search One brand, four magazines...

In pictures: Design Miami makes a stand
© » THEARTNEWSPER

In pictures: Design Miami makes a stand Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Art Basel in Miami Beach 2023 feature In pictures: Design Miami makes a stand Furniture clad in shingles, a tiger with a ceramic coat and a chair made of chains are some of the highlights of Design Miami 2023 Carlie Porterfield 9 December 2023 Share Visitors to Design Miami at one of the 50-plus stands at this year's edition Photo: Liliana Mora The 19th iteration of Design Miami, the city’s leading design fair, kicked off on Tuesday with more than 50 stands dedicated to furniture, homewares, ceramics and more...

Elizabeth Gilfilen: De-defining the gesture
© » TWOCOATSOFPAINT

Elizabeth Gilfilen: De-defining the gesture – Two Coats of Paint Elizabeth Gilfilen, Territory 1, 2023, oil on canvas, 48 x 40 inches Contributed by Vittorio Colaizzi / “I vehemently reject the claim that mark making by itself harbors any potential.” This was Isabelle Graw in conversation in 2010 with Achim Hochdörfer ...

Weekly Picks: Singapore (15 – 21 September 2018)
© » ARTS EQUATOR

Weekly Picks: Singapore (15 - 21 September 2018) | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Weekly To Do October 15, 2018 Because it’s Fun by The Fool Theatre 愚者剧场 , Drama Centre Black Box, 12 – 21 October The inaugural production for The Fool Theatre, Because it’s Fun shows how bullying is omnipresent in our society and how it affects our mental well-being...

Recollecting Memories
© » KADIST

Hitesh Vaidya

2022

In the process of creating this deeply personal body of work, titled Recollecting Memories , artist Hitesh Vaidya repeatedly visited the site of his ancestral home that was destroyed during the devastating earthquakes in Nepal in 2015...

From Here On: Going to the theatre in the time of COVID
© » ARTS EQUATOR

From Here On: Going to the theatre in the time of COVID | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia ArtsEquator Viewpoints Courtesy of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay October 1, 2020 By Jocelyn Chng (1,550 words, 5-minute read) Attending From Here On , my first live performance since COVID hit, evoked a very strange mix of emotions in me...

That Time Jeff Koons Killed A Critic’s Review
© » ARTSJOURNAL

Jeff Koons Killed Her Review - The New York Times Art & Design | Jeff Koons Killed Her Review https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/17/arts/design/jeff-koons-brooklyn-rail-tulips-golan.html Share full article 271 Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT It all began with the flowers, and the hands holding them aloft...

Duto Hardono: Variation & Improvisation for ‘In Harmonia Progressio’
© » KADIST

KADIST and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, are pleased to co-present a performance by Indonesia-based artist Duto Hardono, Variation & Improvisation for ‘In Harmonia Progressio’ (2017)...

Podcast 56: Reflections on the 8th World Summit On Arts And Culture, Malaysia
© » ARTS EQUATOR

Podcast 56: Reflections on the 8th World Summit On Arts And Culture, Malaysia | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia ArtsEquator Viewpoints April 17, 2019 Duration: 39 min The 8th World Summit On Arts And Culture took place 11 – 14 March 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...

Cup of cheer: Holiday bars are popping up all over Pittsburgh
© » TRIBLIVE

Cup of cheer: Holiday bars are popping up all over Pittsburgh | TribLIVE.com Allegheny Cup of cheer: Holiday bars are popping up all over Pittsburgh JoAnne Klimovich Harrop Friday, Dec...

Le Bureau des publics s’expose !
© » SLASH PARIS

Le Bureau des publics s’expose ! — Le Crédac, Centre d’art contemporain d’Ivry — Exposition — Slash Paris Connexion Newsletter Twitter Facebook Le Bureau des publics s’expose ! — Le Crédac, Centre d’art contemporain d’Ivry — Exposition — Slash Paris Français English Accueil Événements Artistes Lieux Magazine Vidéos Retour Le Bureau des publics s’expose ! Exposition Architecture, danse, sculpture, son - musique.....

The Wedding
© » KADIST

Elham Rokni

2015

“The Wedding” is the centerpiece of a series of works centered on a film of the artist’s parents’ wedding in 1978, the year before the Iranian revolution that gave power to a religious fundamentalist regime...

Exhibition - Paris Photo 2022: Magreen Gallery - Alberto Magrin Solo Show - Between Natural and Supernatural
© » EYE OF PHOTOGRAPHY

© 2023 All rights reserved - The Eye of Photography Magreen Gallery, Alberto Magrin solo show at Paris Photo, 2022 Alberto Magrin, Self-Portrait, photograph on porcelain (40x30) cm, 2021 Alberto Magrin, Sage, photograph on porcelain (30x40) cm, 2015 Alberto Magrin, Me by Night, photograph on porcelain (40x30) cm, 2021 Alberto Magrin, Fruit to Love, photograph on porcelain (40x30) cm, 2021 Alberto Magrin, David and Goliath, photograph on porcelain (30x40) cm, 2021 During Paris Photo 2022, The Magreen Gallery presents a solo show by Alberto Magrin, ‘Between Natural and Supernatural’ and an exclusive online viewing room...

The Substation’s SeptFest 2021: Endnote
© » ARTS EQUATOR

The Substation’s SeptFest 2021: Endnote | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia ArtsEquator Viewpoints Joelle Cecilia Quek April 15, 2021 Text and photos by Joelle Cecilia Quek The Substation’s 2021 SeptFest made a full comeback in March after 6 years, marking the 30th anniversary of Singapore’s first independent home of the arts...

You Want to Buy Art. Is It About Love or Money? - via The New York Times
© » LARRY'S LIST

Collectors offer advice on how to buy fine art, and when to sell it....

A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness
© » KADIST

A Spell to Ward off the Darkness is a collaboration between artist-filmmakers Ben Rivers (UK) and Ben Russell (US), presented for the first time as a multi-channel installation (film transferred to video) at Kadist Art Foundation...

Artist Tracey Emin Elected to British Museum Board, and More News
© » ART & OBJECT

Artist Tracey Emin Elected to British Museum Board, and More News | Art & Object Skip to main content Subscribe to our free e-letter! Webform Your Email Address Role Art Collector/Enthusiast Artist Art World Professional Academic Country USA Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Ascension Island Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia & Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canary Islands Cape Verde Caribbean Netherlands Cayman Islands Central African Republic Ceuta & Melilla Chad Chile China Christmas Island Clipperton Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo - Brazzaville Congo - Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czechia Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard & McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao SAR China Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar (Burma) Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands North Korea North Macedonia Norway Oman Outlying Oceania Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka St...