Untitled Document

In general, the contemporary art of Myanmar is highly aesthetic, incorporating little iconography of popular culture that might create an interesting visual mix, or provide opportunity for commentary upon either tradition, contemporary culture, or their intersection.

The work of Kyi Wynn, a largely self-taught painter based in Mandalay, is an exception to this rule. In his work one notices, first, the overall composition of the ground – a colorful palette of vibrant primary colors forming very organized geometric abstract patterns. The brushwork in each painting varies, ranging from a marbleized effect to more staccato strokes, always visually compelling.

Within the background, smaller realistically-figured subjects are placed, adding plastic density to the whole, aiding to construct a meaning or ‘message,’ and providing a delightful interplay between the visuals of figure and ground. The meaning can be very open to subjective interpretation or very precise, depending upon the viewer’s knowledge of history/culture or the artist’s intention.

For example, the work entitled East and West is an elegant composition, the background coloring delicately interwoven to create a marbleized effect. Silkscreen digital photos of four of the world’s most powerful leaders are horizontally lined up, superimposed upon clock faces, dominating the center of the frame. The fact that all four clocks are depicted at almost 2:00 may, or may not, have significance for the viewer; however, the 2:00 o’clock icon is no accident. It was at this time on the afternoon of March 7, 1942, that the colonial British government chose to demolish key installations in Yangon (then called Rangoon) that might be beneficial to the Japanese as they advanced in hopes of occupying Burma during WW II.

This calculated destruction unleashed acts of random violence and mayhem as citizens fled the city. Knowing this historical fact, one may connect a particular historical situation of first calculated, then random, violence with the photos of the world leaders, and interpret this however one desires. But even without knowing the specific significance of 2:00 o’clock, one can connect a motif of time with these same leaders in a general interpretation of limited time to stem the tide of potential worldwide disruption.

To add further complexity to Kyi Wynn’s overall work, some of the individual paintings can be read intertextually. The destruction of Rangoon hinted at in East and West is explicitly stated for Iraq in the painting Loss of Peace.

Contact Me, a new painting exploring issues of communication using icons of modern technology, opens to specific or general interpretation, The silkscreen, ink-jet print is the artist’s face, surrounded by elements that elicit communication: computer keyboard keys, the artist’s email address, and the frontal gaze seemingly imploring the viewer. The issues of communication and identity in this work can be general comments upon those difficulties for all of us – topics that run as motifs throughout much of his work – or they can be very specific to the situation of limited free internet access in Myanmar today.

In another painting, The Room, the number 286 is in the top portion of the frame, while a door lock is below. The general meaning fits with Kyi Wynn’s established themes of communication and identity: locks and house numbers call out for connection with a specific person inside. But there is an additional twist for the art savvy: In 1905, Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen opened America’s first exhibition space for modern art in New York City. The space came to be known as the 291 Gallery because of its location at 291 Fifth Avenue. In a humorous play on this bit of arcane information, 286 happens to be Kyi Wynn’s house number in Mandalay. Perhaps it is not a stretch to say that, like New York’s 291 of a hundred years ago, 286 is probably one of the most innovative artistic spaces in Mandalay today.

Kyi Wynn is one of Myanmar’s most distinctive artists in terms of combining dynamic visual language with insightful multiple readings. The meaning of his work, however, requires an interaction between an active viewer and an artist who is extending a most cordial invitation. These paintings are examples of Kyi Wynn’s intelligence and creativity in composing fascinating works with intricate interweave between dynamic composition/coloring and substance.

There are very definite reasons why Myanmar artists do not duplicate the overt social commentary works of their colleagues in China or Thailand. But as we see in Kyi Wynn’s work, this avenue is not totally absent for an exceptional artist, nor for a viewer who accepts the challenge.