Bart Was Not Here

Dancing on Your Grave 2021

Dancing on Your Grave is a love letter to all the urban guerilla fighters sacrificing their lives to protect civilians and disrupt the military junta’s chokehold on Burma. The cherub on the left holds a homemade bomb and the cherub on the right holds hand grenades, which are nicknamed mangosteen and pineapple in Burmese language. The poses of the figures resemble Asian mythical creatures Kinnari and Kinnara. Kinnara is also the symbol of Karenni State (Kayah State) which was going toe-to-toe with military soldiers in May and June 2021. The system before the coup never offered anything solid for the youth of Myanmar, but they always managed to make something out of nothing. Now all they can do is try to survive.

Dancing on Your Grave 2021
inkjet print on matte poster paper
67.5 x 108 cm

Omen (part 1) 2021

Omen is an illustration prophesizing the end of the military regime in Burma. It is an exact copy of the general’s cap worn by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, except for the Burmese text below the crest. This is a pejorative term in Burmese implying relations between the general and his mother. Omen is meant as an explicit insult to the military and a will to destroy them. All those in Myanmar who voted in multiple elections to gradually lessen the military’s influence by supporting democratically elected leaders are angry beyond measure that not only was the election result of 2020 denied to them, but also their leader Aung San Suu Kyi was imprisoned, and untold numbers of peaceful protestors have been imprisoned and killed for defying the institution which has taken away their freedom

Khin Nyunt 2017

Khin Nyunt was the head of intelligence from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s, when he was given the position of prime minister. He outlined a 7 point road-map to democracy during his time as prime minister, after which he was ousted by General Than Shwe and put under house arrest.

The Birth of Story 2021

The Birth of Story takes its cues from a classic image of a seemingly benign female figure seated elegantly on a lily pad. The layout of the illustration mimics the cover of Burmese periodical Shumawa in 1973, drawn by artist Bagyi Aung Soe, a legendary figure revered by many in Myanmar. Bart selects muted colours and some features nodding to classical European paintings, including an angel floating in the background. In 2021, Bart left Myanmar and joined a residency in Paris. Touring museums like the Louvre, he drew upon the imagery he saw there. But the lady kneeling on the lily pad brandishes a dagger and the angel holds a voodoo doll – a likeness of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. The illustration is not an ode to peaceful pleasures but vengeance and war.

The Birth of Story 2021
inkjet print on matte poster paper
79.5 x 63.5 cm