Rakhine Drummer

Credit Line: Gift of Ian Holliday 2023, Collection of SMU

Kaung Kyaw Khine (b. 1982, Rakhine State) graduated from Yangon's State School of Fine Arts in 2007 and held his first solo exhibition in 2012. Born in Sittwe, Rakhine State, where his father U Kyaw Zan Maung is a prominent Rakhine traditional musician and leader of a large drum team, the artist has made his signature theme performers of the traditional Rakhine two-sided long drum. The drum is only played on auspicious occasions such as the ordination of monks and Rakhine Thingyan.

The SMU Art Collection has over 70 paintings from Myanmar donated by Ian Holliday. A specialist in Burmese politics, Holliday assembled the Thukhuma Collection which comprises of Burmese paintings largely dating from the transitional decade of the 2010s, presenting multiple artistic perspectives on a society in reform. On display at School of Social Sciences and Li Ka Shing Library, the gifted paintings depict the people, culture and land, from the streets of Yangon and rural peripheries to political icons and indigenous deities.