For our weekly top picks and freebies straight to your inbox, sign up here.
This event is part of Yangon-based non-profit LGBTQ arts and culture initiative &PROUD’s annual festival Yangon Pride 2020. Scroll to the bottom of this page for the full schedule.
Bold colour tones, lustful stares, and erect willies.
A new exhibition tackling issues of sexuality, eroticism, a general sense of identity will debut at Myanm/art gallery in downtown Yangon on Friday (January 17).
The work will contribute to a growing awareness of gender fluidity in Myanmar, but there is still a long way to go before the country’s LGBTQ community is free of social stigma, says queer 24-year-old artist Richie Htet.
Richie, who graduated with a bachelor’s in fashion illustration from the London College of Fashion, is bound to turn heads with his first solo exhibition, “အခြောက် (A Chauk),” a derogatory term for gay people in Myanmar.
Richie is all too familiar with the word, as some passersby utter it while he walks past.
“Oh, people are becoming more understanding, society is changing,” he says. “But I realize it’s not as progressive as I thought when people start calling me ‘a chauk’ on the streets.”
But it’s not just Myanmar; the artist recalls regularly facing discrimination when he was studying in London because of his sexuality, though Richie plans to bring “something new and different” to his home country, where queer artists are almost non-existent and expressing one’s feelings is a work in progress.
Many of Richie’s works for this exhibition will explore homoerotic male nudity. Nude paintings have been interpreted in many ways, either sexually or as a depiction of beauty, he says.
“In the 20th Century, which is my favorite period in art, a lot of women artists and queer artists were reinterpreting their nudes to express their own identity,” he explains. “They were also using previous forms of nudes to reinterpret themselves as well.”
In his last exhibition, “I’m Not Trying To Seduce You,” a collaborative effort with visual artist Calum Minuti, Richie features subtle glimpses of feminine sexuality that revolve around powerful female figures. He has returned with much stronger displays by incorporating homosexuality into his subject matter.
A disclaimer should be issued because this exhibition contains graphic depictions of male figures, sex and genitalia. This exhibition might not be for you if you:
1. Don’t like seeing nude paintings.
2. Don’t like phallic imagery.
3. Are close-minded.
“အခြောက် (A Chauk)" runs at Myanm/art gallery in Urban Asia Centre from Friday, January 17 to Sunday, February 2. The gallery is open for free entry Tuesday to Sunday from 11am to 6pm.
