Canvas:
Carefully hand-selected traditional fabric from Myanmar, chosen for its texture, symbolism, and origin. The artwork is painted on modern Burmese fabric, widely used by women today. While visually vibrant, the textile reflects how traditional garments continue to carry layered expectations of femininity and respectability. By using current patterns, the piece connects directly to the lived realities of women navigating life under the lingering weight of military power and patriarchal control after the 2021 coup.

Technique:
The fabric was primed for archival stability, with acrylic layered for depth and contrast. Printed paper collage overlays political headlines and photographs from before and after the 2021 military coup, embedding real-world narratives directly into the composition.

Process:
This work confronts the ongoing political oppression in Myanmar and its impact on women. Through the act of collaging current events over the female body, the painting reflects how women’s identities are trapped within cycles of violence, censorship, and cultural burden.

Artwork Description:
Fabric is not merely material but a site of social struggle. In this painting, two female figures appear — the one wrapped in collaged headlines stands behind, gripping the girl in front as if holding or trapping her. The dominant figure carries the weight of past and present oppression, formed from layers of media narratives and political trauma. The front figure, partially constrained, represents the younger generation caught in this inherited burden. Through these intertwined bodies and layers of printed media, Chuu reveals how women continue to bear the emotional and political weight of Myanmar’s crisis — together, but not always freely while still seeking spaces of resistance and survival.

Exhibition History:

• “Memory in the Present,” Centre des Arts, Geneva, Switzerland (UN Human Rights Exhibition, Minority Artist Award), 2024
• “Thread Under Threat” BACC Art Center, Bangkok, Thailand, 2024