ARTIST TALK, HTEIN LIN, Burmese artist in exile

About

In cojunction with the current exhibition 'Paper Exchange', TOandFOR is honoured to welcome Htein Lin, a Burmese artist in exile in London, to talk about his art and experiences of producing it in Burma. Htein Lin was born in 1966 in Mezaligon, in Burma's northern Irrawaddy Delta, where his family owned a small sawmill. He began painting and performing while still at school, and continued at Rangoon University while studying for a law degree - a subject he chose for it's perfomantive qualities. In March 1988, he was one of a number of Rangoon University students who were expelled for protesting the authorities' failure to properly investigate the death of fellow student Phone Maw. These protests were the first step that led to the ‘democracy spring' in August/September 1988 which saw thousands of students killed and that preceded the clampdown by the military that remain in power today. In 1998 Lin was arrested for suspected involvement in opposition activities and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment without trial. 'Paper Exchange aims to show in part, that tools of expression can be found all around us and readily available. In correlation - and stark contrast, to this, Lin will describe how he was forced to improvise to continue painting after being placed in jai and how the will to create overcomes adversity. Using the white cotton prison uniform as a canvas, he paid for paints to be smuggled into the jail. In the absence of brushes , he used his fingers, cigarette lighters, syringes, carved soap and dinner plates to make his mark.In 2000 he, and fellow political prisoners, protested for better conditions in the prison, including the right to paint. During the talk TOandFOR will be displaying Lin's latest Recycled works. The talk will begin 8pm.