Welcome to our Exhibition
Myawaddy Township (Karen State), 20 April By Zay Yar Minn
A Lot of 500-pound bombs were fired by the military council near friendship bridge.
Laiza (Mountainous Town)Kachin, October 2023 By Hkun Latt
Two bombs were dropped from a jet plane near Laiza city and a thermal flare was dropped to protect the aircraft from the MANPADS. 31 October 2023. On the night of October 9th, at least 30 civilians, including a two-month-old infant, were killed and 57 others were injured when artillery shelling was fired at the Mon Laike refugee camp.
Loi Nam Pha Camp
Waiting patiently for a hearty meal to receive. Conversations between them: "when they see the jet fighter planes, they point and say evil plane". "when they see passenger planes, they point and say its a good plane". They could tell the different type of planes when an airplane is in the sky.
Pa say lar village, May 2023
Pa say lar village is one of the war zone villages and they are building a hide out (bunker) knowing that they will get hit by large bombs from Myanmar military. Almost Every household in this village has a bunker underneath this house. sky.
Mese village, July 2023
Due to the Mese battle, a community has resettled deeper into the forest after being displaced by conflict, and they've constructed a new home and household items entirely from bamboo. The ingenuity and resourcefulness of using bamboo for both shelter and daily necessities without nails is truly remarkable. It's a testament to their resilience and ability to adapt to their environment.
Lukumpgra Village, June 2023
2 of 500-pound bombs were dropped near the owner of the pig farm houses where he was sleeping and very fortunate that he wasn't injured. First Aid workers have requested him to leave his home for evacuation but he refuses to leave his home. While the photos were taken, the jet plane was still up in the air. In this picture he is Preparing food for his pigs and drinking rice wine.
Houses that were destroyed in the village of Sita,May 15, 2023
Her house was also caught in the fire, and they had to live in a nearby farm. Between the last week of March and April, troops under the 66th Division of the Military Council Army raided 12 villages in Shweku Township and carried out airstrikes, artillery shelling, and arson attacks resulting in the wreckage of 1800 houses.
A child searching for tinsel in the ruins of a house that was destroyed by the military council army. May 13, 2023
Between the last week of March and April, troops under the 66th Division of the Military Council Army raided 12 villages in Shweku Township and carried out airstrikes, artillery shelling, and arson attacks resulting in the wreckage of 1800 houses.
A woman fleeing the war returned after offering alms to the village monastery, Si Mu Lai Village May 12, 2023
Her house was also caught in the fire, and they had to live in a nearby farm. Between the last week of March and April, troops under the 66th Division of the Military Council Army raided 12 villages in Shweku Township and carried out airstrikes, artillery shelling, and arson attacks resulting in the wreckage of 1800 houses.
Artist: Hkun Li
Another Tragic event. Military's airstrike on the civilians in Kunglaw village, Kachin State, Many children are among the deaths and casualties. The Myanmar military committed another terrible crime, killing innocent children in Kunglaw village, Kachin state. The airstrike on the church killed 9 people, mostly children, and injured over 10. One civilian was killed and 10 was injured by retaliatory airstrikes carried out by the military on Kung law , located in the Kachin state , on 7 August.
Artist: Nyein Chan Aung
At the Shan-Kayah border, in the Ban Kauk refugee camp located in Hpruso Township, the military council dropped two 500-pound bombs via airstrike at around 9 PM on September 5. This resulted in the deaths of nine civilians, including children, and left many others injured. Among the nine fatalities, six were members of the same family: a mother and her five children. Additionally, six school-age children residing in the camp were also killed. Furthermore, a two-year-old child, the son of a CDM (Civil Disobedience Movement) teacher who had been teaching at the camp, was among the victims.
On March 24, 2023, a military plane bombed Dor Ta Ma Gyi Hospital in the eastern part of Demoso. Karenni state by YAT
This room is a small operating room. I feel sad because the room that is supposed to save people's lives has turned out like this. First, this hospital was shelled. Heavy weapons fell. I had to move when I fell. After all, there was an airstrike bombing this place. The items in it were left as they were.The mountains on the side and the cracked roofs here, In addition to that, the medical equipment and the small operating room were shot like this. August.
Artist Sit Htet aung/ (The Roots)
A church collapsed by military airstrike at the MaeKaNae village in Karen State. April,26,2023
Mai Ba Nyan
his is the scene seen on February 4, 2024, when the military council army bombed the monastery of Pangkylog village in Kuk Khaing Township, North Shan, and almost all of the school buildings were damaged. About a mile away from Pangyelog village, the military council army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) fought fiercely. In addition to the monastery of Pangkylok village, about 50 houses were burnt to ashes due to the airstrike, and many houses were damaged. Until now, the monastery and houses have not been rebuilt.
Villagers in Nampheka observe the wreckage of a fighter jet that was crashed down on December 12, 2023 by Kachin Independence Army,
After bombing their village during a clash between KIA and Military Council forces in North Shan. The attack resulted in over 20 civilian deaths and destroyed more than a hundred homes, leaving many residents homeless and exposed to the elements.
Demoso Township (Karannei), 4 July, 2023 by YAT (The Roots)
After dropping 2 of 500-pound to IDP Camp
Kom Blai (The Roots) Lukumphra village, June 2023
(most of the animals that have been killed including one person)They came to drop 2 of 500 pound bomb during middle of the night, it is not active war zone
This image captures the aftermath of two 500-pound bombs dropped at night in a non-active war zone, depicting significant damage and the loss of animal and human life
DKom Blai (The Roots)
Lukumphra village, June 2023
pieces of 500 pound boomb shell pieces (please look up 500 pound descriptions)
Laiza (Mountainous Town), Kachin, October 2023 by Khun Lat
Two bombs were dropped from a jet plane near Laiza city and a thermal flare was dropped to protect the aircraft from the MANPADS. 31 October 2023. On the night of October 9th, at least 30 civilians, including a two-month-old infant, were killed and 57 others were injured when artillery shelling was fired at the Mon Laike refugee camp.
WHEN WE SEE THE PLANES, WE STILL FEEL THE PAIN!
This short experimental film combines performance art, video art, and interviews to portray the feeling of pain that people experience due to the brutal airstrikes back home in Burma/Myanmar. Although the artists have not personally experienced attacks from fighter jets, they have dreamt about these horrific scenes after working with raw footage from the frontlines. As such, archival audio from the ground becomes the sonic landscape in this film. At its core, this artwork is born out of the artists’ desire to face their own nightmares.
Visually, the artists relied upon Butoh, animism, and historical material culture such as antique textiles to weave between the borderlands of fear and hope. There are two main beings in this work, the green ghost and the white spirit. Back home, people believe that when a person dies from unnatural and violent deaths, their spirits get trapped in our world, lingering as vengeful green ghosts. Building upon this traditional belief, greenness becomes omnipresent in this film, inviting the viewers to be haunted. The white spirit represents the next generation. Even those who are yet to enter this world are terrified of the airstrikes. The young artist expresses this sense of foreboding fear through the contemporary Japanese dance, Butoh. The mask shields the identity of the young artist.
Connecting these two beings are the antique textiles with airplane patterns from Mru communities (also known as Rakhine-Chin) that live near the border of Myanmar and Bangladesh. In the 1990s, the Myanmar Military (or Tatmadaw) encountered the Mru tribes during their clearance operation against the Rohingya people. Being minorities among minorities, the Mru people experienced the worst oppression from the military government. Their traditional textiles were banned and burned because the soldiers deemed their fashion too revealing and primitive. The few that remain found their way to the filmmaker and into this film.
MRO-CHIN PEOPLE
Mro (or Mru) are considered the most primal peoples who settled in the valleys of Chin Hills. Their textiles have the most unusual patterns and only cover parts of their body. During the migration of Tibeto-Burmans into the region, the Khumi-Khami-Mro peoples ended up in the coastal rainforests near Bay of Bengal. Over the past five centuries, the Khumi people began settling in what is now known as Southwestern parts of Chin state. Similarly, Khami peoples live in the Northwest Rakhine state. The Mro people live along the Chittagong Hills.
AKHEN (MRO/MRU BREASTCOVERS)
AKHENS were used daily by the Mro women in the past. The technical skills, level of concentration, and amount of time needed to weave these textiles are incomprehensible even for the current Khami-Khumi-Mro weavers. However, many Khami-Khumi-Mro weavers still know the main technique of weaving these breast covers, which is the supplementary single-faced weft patterning. This technique allows the weavers to create patterns on only one side of the fabric, leaving the unpatterned
Demoso Township (Karannei), 7 May 2023 by YAT (The Roots)
The refugees flash light to spider on the wall as they hide in the natural cave to shield from the air strike near Demoso township, Karenni state, Myanmar in May 7, 2023. (Data to update) Report documents 2,471 airstrikes, resulting in at least 1,295 deaths since February 2021 coup. Myanmar junta airstrikes killed over 359 civilians, including 61 children, and injured 756 others in the first four months of 2024, according to a recent report.
Si Ei village, 8th February 2024 by Kom Blai (The Roots)
The tragic event at the primary school in Daw Si Ei village, where a 500-pound bomb was dropped during school hours, has caused devastating consequences for the community. The attack resulted in the death of four students and injuries to 40 others. One severely injured student required the removal of a kidney. This horrifying experience has deeply traumatized the children, leaving them fearful and withdrawn, often hiding under tables and being re-traumatized by loud noises. The emotional and psychological impact extends beyond the primary school students to all children in Daw Si Ei village
Artist By Edo Vader
Rebuilding Lives (2024)
This short life-affirming documentary weaves the stories of two different refugees, Pi Ngun Hoi and Pu Tluang Cung, as they rebuild their lives in the borderlands between India and Burma/Myanmar. Although their journeys differ, their aim to build new homes with their families unites them. In essence, their stories represent the many Chin people who have been displaced due to the airstrikes against Chin State in Burma/Myanmar. On one side, Pi Ngun Hoi chronicles her journey with pain, starting from her involvement in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), continuing to her near-death experience during an airstrike against Khuafo, a village north of Thantlang, and ending with her family building a house for themselves instead of overstaying at the town's communal house. On the other side, Pu Tlaung Cung expresses his sorrow in losing his elder sister and his inherited house due to the airstrike against Tlanglo, his village situated close to the India border. But now he is focusing on rebuilding his house back in Tlanglo, because his elderly parents want to return back to their village before they pass away. Tying these two separate stories is the traditional song that Pu Tluang Cung's father sings about wanting to return to his village. At its core, we see Pi Ngun Hoi's perseverance to support her family despite her wounds, and Pu Tluang Cung's defiant determination to fulfil his parents' wish to return to home. Lastly, not only their struggle to rebuild new houses connect their stories, but also their firm defiance against the military junta that has destroyed their lives in the first place.
Artist By Mg Phoe
“When we see the planes…” Artists: Mg Phoe - Tamalar - Edo Vader - Saw Tun
Today in Myanmar, a group of war criminals are oppressing and killing citizens in order to satisfy their own greed. All civilian areas including schools, hospitals and religious buildings are brutally attacked by airstrikes everyday. Many people had to flee their homes. Many deaths and injuries occurred. The four artists illustrated this painting about social disaster.
Animation
Our team created a short animated video to inform and mobilize the public to participate in the Paper Plane Strike on the first day of the Myanmar New Year. We aim to convey a sense of urgency in stopping the ongoing airstrikes perpetrated by S.A.C., and we selected an artistic style for our video that allowed us to paint a vivid picture of the atrocities Myanmar people are forced to go through. For instance, we used an artistic approach that juxtaposes 3D cartoon characters with real images that depict the horrific aftermath of airstrikes to highlight the harsh realities that children in Myanmar experience. We also incorporated the real sound recording of the airstrikes to further accentuate the urgency to stop the supply of jet fuel to the junta and ultimately stop their reign of terror from above.
MIRACLE CRASH
In a land burdened with relentless suffering, where individuals bear the weight of hardships beyond their years, The people fervently wish for the miraculous fall of the junta as they endure their daily tribulations. They harbor a profound hope for the downfall of the junta and its planes and jets, which heartlessly attack innocent civilians. This curtain serves as a vivid illustration of the cries, prayers, and curses of the people, longing for the crash of the fighter jets whenever they appear. It encapsulates a fragment of the deep-seated hatred carried by all of us who are adrift in this sea of suffering. This is the blanket for the family, sewn from the fabric of our collective wounds.
When We see the Planes, We see....
Choose a color that represents your feelings about the situation in Myanmar. Follow the instructions to fold a paper airplane and leave it on the sky wall to become part of a collective message of hope and resilence.
FOLD WISH. REFLECT. FLY YOUR PLANE
