BITCH BETTER HAVE MY DEMOCRACY
(2021)
Medium
inkjet print
Measurements
83.8 × 60.6 cm (image) 86.6 × 63.8 cm (sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, NGV Supporters of Prints and Drawings, 2021
© ZWG HTET / RICHIE NATH
Gallery location
Level 1, NGV International
About this work
On 1 February 2021 the government of Myanmar orchestrated a military coup that effectively nullified the 2020 national election results and led to the arrest and detention of many political leaders. In response, a group of young artists produced posters and other materials drawing on traditional figures and symbols of defiance. In BITCH BETTER HAVE MY DEMOCRACY, Richie Htet depicts Ma Bama Pyi, the ‘symbolic heroine’ who leads the revolution. ‘Her shape is reminiscent of the geography of Myanmar itself,’ says Htet. ‘The soldier beneath her feet is the mythological “ogre” character – the evil-doer who curses the people’, reinforcing her role as both protector and inspiration.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Yangon, Myanmar; Sydney, New South Wales
Edition
edition of 50
Printing/Publishing
printed by Darkstar Digital, Sydney
Accession Number
2021.696
Departments
International Prints / International Prints and Drawings