Rakhine sailboats

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

Shwe Thein attended the State School of Fine Arts in Yangon from 2001 to 2004, and is presently based in Yangon. His series of riverine scenes with traditional sailboats emerge from memories of his hometown Kyauk Taw, Rakhine State which sits along the Kaladan River. He used to sail overnight with his father, a trader, to sell wares and products at the morning markets. However, these sailboats are now fast disappearing, having been replaced by motorboats. In his seascapes, sky, sea and boats meld together nebulously through the use of broad impressionistic brush strokes.

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.