• Burmese
Sunday, July 13, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Photo

‘Burma is Like a Cancer Victim’

Kyaw Phyo Tha by Kyaw Phyo Tha
June 24, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
‘Burma is Like a Cancer Victim’

A painting of Rangoon General Hospital at the ‘Cancer’ exhibition in Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

5.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — For some people outside the country, Burma is one of Asia’s last economic frontiers—a land of untapped business opportunities. But artist M.P.P Yei Myint sees it differently.

“Burma is like a cancer victim,” the Burmese painter said at his sixth solo show, now open to the public at Lokanat Gallery in downtown Rangoon.

Simply titled “Cancer,” the exhibition boasts 54 paintings that reflect the artist’s diagnosis of what ails his native Burma today.

RelatedPosts

Martyrs’ Day Openly Commemorated by Thousands Nationwide

Martyrs’ Day Openly Commemorated by Thousands Nationwide

July 19, 2016
17.3k
Migrants’ Hopes and Fears in Little Burma

Migrants’ Hopes and Fears in Little Burma

July 16, 2016
10.3k
YCDC Takes to the Streets to Sterilize Stray Dogs

YCDC Takes to the Streets to Sterilize Stray Dogs

July 15, 2016
7.4k

“From government to education to health to culture, everything is in bad shape. They have been deteriorating over time like the health of a cancer victim,” said Yei Myint, whose paintings can also be found at national art galleries in Singapore and Malaysia, as well as the Fukuoka Art Museum in Japan.

As a longtime resident of Nyaung U, a town that abuts the ancient templescape of Bagan, he witnessed the reckless renovation of centuries-old Buddhist shrines by Burma’s previous military dictatorship. That crude attempt at restoration ruined the heartland of Burma’s ancient civilization, Yei Myint says, and now he sees Burma facing another threat: a flood of investment coupled with crony capitalism, all in the name of a booming tourism market that has taken off since the country opened to the West in 2011.

“Like cancer cells, they are killing Bagan. When I tried to see the bigger picture, I came to realize that the whole country is suffering the same as under the decades-long military dictatorship, corroding everything in the country,” Yei Myint said.

With these things in mind, he began in 2008 to work on a series of paintings, most of which are featured at the Lokanat Gallery exhibition.

“When I tried to think about the title for this exhibition, the word ‘cancer’ popped up in my mind,” explained the 61-year-old artist.

In oil paintings crafted with a painting knife, he portrays the forms of ancient temples in Bagan; buildings of the Burmese Parliament complex in Naypyidaw; the old High Court building in downtown Rangoon; the convocation halls of Rangoon and Mandalay universities; and encroaching Chinese influence in Mandalay, the country’s cultural heart in upper Burma. In all of these paintings, there is one constant: A moon hovers over the scene, partially covered by a dark cloud. It is a bad omen, the artist explained, symbolizing that the wider national institution represented by the building is in decay.

Does it mean Yei Myint is wholly pessimistic, seeing no hope for a brighter future?

“Not really,” the artist insists.

“The partially covered moon means we still have hope. As long as we are aware of what is happening in the country and have a desire to fix these things together, we will have a better future, of course.”

Win Pe, a leading Burmese contemporary artist, said Yei Myint’s artworks are based on political and national awareness of the issues Burma is facing today. In a remark in the exhibition’s guestbook, he writes: “His styles and color compositions go well with the exhibition title. Well done.”

“Cancer” runs through Tuesday.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Multimedia
Kyaw Phyo Tha

Kyaw Phyo Tha

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

A Chronology of the Kachin Conflict
Military

A Chronology of the Kachin Conflict

by The Irrawaddy
November 20, 2014
42.8k

On Wednesday, the Burma Army shelled a Kachin rebel base killing 22 cadets, making it one of the deadliest incidents...

Read moreDetails
Astrologists Tell the Future
Photo Essay

Astrologists Tell the Future, Offer Hope in Burma

by San Yamin Aung
September 26, 2013
4.7k

Fortune-tellers around the world tap into a natural desire to know what’s in store next, and the Burmese seem to...

Read moreDetails
The Last of the Old Irrawaddy Flotilla
Photo Essay

The Last of the Old Irrawaddy Flotilla

by Tim Willasey Wilsey
March 4, 2013
12.4k

If you go on Burma’s Irrawaddy River you can find 70-year-old, Scottish-built paddle steamers still plying the waters—the last of...

Read moreDetails
Iron Cross
Photo Essay

Iron Cross, Burma’s Biggest Band, Rocks Mae Sot

by The Irrawaddy
January 14, 2013
4.3k

After two decades as Burma's hottest rock band, Iron Cross plays its first concert for an appreciative crowd of thousands...

Read moreDetails
8888 Remembered: Archival Images Offer Glimpse of Burma’s Uprising
Military

8888 Remembered: Archival Images Offer Glimpse of Burma’s Uprising

by The Irrawaddy
August 8, 2015
27.7k

The Irrawaddy revisits the 1988 pro-democracy uprising with this series of archival images.

Read moreDetails
Kengtung—Shan State’s Hidden Gem
Photo Essay

Kengtung—Shan State’s Hidden Gem

by Hseng Noung Lintner
June 7, 2012
4.6k

The picturesque eastern Shan State town of Kengtung lies just three hours from the Thai border and is becoming a...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Arakan Party Concerned Army General Will Become Chief Minister

Arakan Party Concerned Army General Will Become Chief Minister

Govt Mum on Grounds for Sacking Religious Affairs Minister

Govt Mum on Grounds for Sacking Religious Affairs Minister

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

3 days ago
1.1k
Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

3 days ago
1.1k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Deploying Conscripts in Major Push to Reclaim Lost Territory

    Myanmar Junta Deploying Conscripts in Major Push to Reclaim Lost Territory

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Chief Thanks Trump for Shutting Down VOA and RFA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Kill 25 on Friday

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • KIA Denies Rumor Chief Under House Arrest in China

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.