TIN TUN HLAING

Tin Tun Hlaing (b. 1969) is a fine example of the new generation of Burmese artists who increasingly are being exhibited and collected around the world. Working in a photo-realistic style in oil on canvas, he paints what he knows best: Burmese culture, tradition and daily life in the countryside.

Life in Burma still centres on Buddhism and the yearly cycle of seasons and festivals. Tin Tun Hlaing depicts the ubiquitous monks, novices and nuns in their white or crimson robes, carrying alms bowls and sheltering from the sun under red umbrellas. Novice monks are often shown quietly studying the Buddhist scriptures, silhouetted in a temple window, or resting in the shade of an imposing statue or pagoda. The figures are dwarfed by the imposing temple architecture, monks walking in file against a backdrop of the towers of Pagan rising out of the early morning mist.

Beauty is also found in everyday scenes: women in brightly coloured sarongs returning from laundering clothes in the river, or carrying water pots on their heads across the parched earth. There is an affectionate note in Tin Tun Hlaing’s portrayals of mothers and children, who help with daily tasks. Another favourite subject are the fishermen of famous Inlay Lake, balancing on the narrow, high-prowed boats above the mirror-like surface of the water. Often Tin Tun Hlaing uses a bird’s-eye perspective that heightens the poetic element of his compositions. Despite Myanmar’s recent turbulent history, he succeeds in capturing the “Golden Earth” that lies beneath the political upheaval.