The artist, who has an exhibition at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery, created a unique body of work from jail uniforms, soap and lids while detained by Myanmar’s regime
Htein Lin’s large finger-painted 2024 work, Fiery Hell, which portrays the plight of rural people fleeing as the army sets villages on fire. Photograph: Richard Koh Fine Art/Courtesy of the artist
“The prison uniform became my canvas, the wheel of a lighter my ruler, as I repurposed everyday objects as my tools.”, centres on a series of prison paintings, 000235, named after the number assigned to him by the International Committee of the Red Cross during his incarceration in Myanmar from 1998 to 2004.
He describes how he and fellow inmates, often in solitary confinement or small cells, would sit near the prison’s iron gate in the evenings, communicating with each other through songs, poetry and storytelling. “It became our secret to survival,” he says.Biology of Art. Htein Lin’s 1999 depiction of human anatomy was created with the tops of toothpaste tubes, medical bottles and pill packets.
“I couldn’t see who was beating me, but they lined us up and we had to walk between two rows of guards who struck us from both sides.”Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development teamIt was the art he created that got him through the toughest times. “I spent long stretches in solitary confinement, yet making art made me feel completely free.
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