We make art in peace (52 hands)
(2021)
Medium
inkjet print
Measurements
87.0 × 61.8 cm (image) 89.8 × 64.9 cm (sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, NGV Supporters of Prints and Drawings, 2021
© Kway Htoo Bala
Gallery location
Level 1, NGV International
About this work
Street protesters opposing the 2021 Myanmar military coup adopted the three-finger salute, originating from The Hunger Games (book, 2008; film, 2012), as a symbol of resistance against authoritarianism. Kway Htoo Bala’s composition juxtaposes a multitude of three-finger salutes with the symbol of peace: a flying white dove carrying an olive branch. Reflecting on the image, Bala says:
As easy as one, two, three, the hopes of a generation, crushed in a fist. Yet, as millions take to their windows and civil servants add their voices of dissent, the creative community, too, are filling digital platforms with the three-fingered salute. Liberté, égalité, fraternité. These are gestures that take us from the one, two, three, to the four, five, six.
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
2021.703
Departments
International Prints / International Prints and Drawings