Revolution by Paintbrush: The Story of Htein Lin
Filed under: Asia ~ Myanmar
The Economist tells the story of Myanmarite painter Htein Lin (shown above), who bravely continues to make his art even behind bars:
The hardest place to pursue his calling was prison. Brushes, paints and paper were not allowed. At first, he used his fingers to spread dye from the prison factory over empty food packets. Gradually, however, he discovered that the lungyis (sarongs) of the prisoners' uniforms made the best canvases, while almost anything, from the lids of toothpaste tubes to the wheels of cigarette lighters could be used as brushes. Sometimes, he carved stencils out of bars of soap; at others, as in the self-portrait on display in the show, he applied his improvised paints with a syringe. His fellow prisoners kept an eye out for guards while he painted. In exchange, he put on "exhibitions" for them in his cell block, or painted scenes they requested. He hid his work in his bedroll and bribed friendly guards to smuggle it out. Once, a guard mistook a series of abstract paintings as blueprints for an escape attempt and destroyed them. Many of the paintings show snapshots of prison life: convicts crouched in subservient squats for inspections, or curled morosely in tiny cells. One, made for a friend who pined for a pretty view, depicts a sunset. Another, painted at the turn of the millennium, presents an imaginary firework display.
The spirit of freedom is indomitable. It is always darkest before the toothpaste-hued dawn.
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