Canvas:
Traditional Myanmar fabric forms the foundation of this work, chosen for its cultural symbolism and patterned rhythm. The textile carries associations of identity, femininity, and inherited social roles, transforming the surface into a site where personal and political histories intersect.

Technique:
Acrylic paint is combined with newspaper collage directly on the fabric surface. Archival images, printed texts, and painted elements are layered to construct figures that oscillate between presence and erasure. The visible fabric pattern remains active, interrupting the imagery and reinforcing a sense of instability.

Process:
The work is built through layering and repetition, linking historical events with contemporary lived experience. By embedding fragments of newsprint and imagery into the bodies themselves, the process reflects how political violence and collective memory are absorbed into daily life and personal identity.

Artwork Description:
In the Shadows of Triple Betrayal confronts the layered trauma of Myanmar’s repeated cycles of political rupture. The three female figures represent the nation’s three major military coups—in 1966, 1988, and 2021—each standing as a marker of interrupted futures and inherited loss. Positioned closely together, the figures appear bound by history, yet fragmented by time.

Their bodies are constructed from newspaper clippings and archival imagery sourced from each respective period. These collaged surfaces transform the figures into living archives, where personal identity is inseparable from political violence. History is not depicted as distant or resolved, but carried physically within the body—absorbed, endured, and remembered.

Set against traditional patterned fabric, the figures exist within a visual field that evokes cultural continuity alongside systemic betrayal. Decorative motifs and floral forms contrast sharply with the harsh realities embedded in the newsprint, underscoring the tension between tradition, survival, and disruption. The work reflects on how each generation of women inherits the consequences of power seized through force, standing in the shadows of repeated betrayal while continuing to bear witness.