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 regimeThe Burmese painter Htein Lin’s art bears the imprint of his years in a Myanmar jail, where he created hundreds of paintings using prison uniforms as his canvases and makeshift tools including syringes, soap blocks and cigarette lighters.“I had no canvas, no brushes, no paint. But I had to make art,” says Htein Lin from his home in Myanmar’s Shan state. “I befriended the prison guards to smuggle in paint, scavenging for materials wherever I could. Continue reading...
Myanmar artist Htein Lin, imprisoned from 1998-2004, created art using prison uniforms and makeshift tools like soap and cigarette lighters. His retrospective exhibition, "Escape," at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery, features prison paintings, self-portraits, and collaborative works with UK inmates, reflecting his experiences of confinement and Myanmar's political turmoil. His art portrays the plight of rural people fleeing as the army sets villages on fire.