Altered States: Painting Myanmar in a Time of Transition is an exhibition that brings together art, technology and culture through a selection of Burmese paintings from the Thukhuma Collection that are on loan to Singapore Management University. Using augmented reality art (AR.T), The MeshMinds Foundation brings three selected paintings to life, innovating new ways to immerse in Burmese culture.

The Thukhuma Collection is the largest collection of contemporary Burmese art. Assembled by Ian Holliday, a specialist in Burmese politics, more than a decade ago, these paintings largely date from the transitional decade of the 2010s and present multiple artistic perspectives on a society in reform. The exhibition invites us to reflect upon the concerns, aspirations and hopes the artists had at that period for Myanmar and its people, and what has changed and what has remained the same, even as the country undergoes a seismic shift after the military coup on 1 February 2021.

Exhibiting artists are Aung Khaing, Aung Ko, Aung Kyi Soe, Aung Soe Min, Dawei Lay, Kin Maung Yin, Kyaw Yin, Min Kyaw Swar, Min Zaw, Pho Tun, Soe Naing, Soe Soe, Tamalar, Yan Naing Oo, Zwe Mon, Zwe Yan Naing.

Exhibition Details

Dates: 6 January - 4 February 2023
Venue: SMU de Suantio Gallery, 90 Stamford Road, Singapore 178903
Opening hours: Tue–Sat | 11am–8pm | Closed on Sundays, Mondays and Public Holidays

Programmes

The exhibition will be accompanied by a panel discussion, workshop, tours, and a film programme curated by Asian Film Archive. Register for the programmes here.

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Panel Discussion | Intersections of Myanmar Art, Culture and Tech
REGISTER HERE

For the first time, SMU Libraries and The MeshMinds Foundation present an art x tech programme that explores the powerful potential of Augmented Reality (AR) art to share culture, narrate experiences and create connections. Join us at this panel discussion to hear from experts and practitioners working in the intersections of art, culture, history, and tech, with a particular focus on Myanmar and the Thukhuma Collection from which three artworks was transformed into AR art.

This virtual event is free of charge.

Date: 19 January 2023
Time: 5 - 6pm

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Film Programme | New Moving Image Works of Myanmar
REGISTER HERE

The Asian Film Archive presents a contemporary Myanmar moving image programme, which includes 2 feature-length documentaries, A Thousand Fires (2021), Rain in 2020 (2021), and the world premiere of 5 experimental shorts from Lights From the Underground. Together, these films compose an intimate portrait of contemporary Myanmar in flux—focusing on the heterogeneity of its communities, including new immigrants, ethnic minorities and young activists, each with different visions of the future.

Examining the deeply intertwined relationship between the land and the communities who inhabit it, the two feature documentaries are lushly photographed geographic immersions into the tale of two families and their connections with jade and oil mining, respectively. Far from a static portrayal of their lived realities, the films reveal a web of connections between labour, politics, and spirituality, surfacing a dynamic rhythm between cycles of nature and capital through a plurality of voices and elemental forces. Meanwhile, the Lights from The Underground films which resulted from the experimental filmmaking workshop held by 3-ACT in collaboration with Image Forum Tokyo in 2022, is an exploration of new image-making practices revolving around light, its absence and presence, entanglements with physical temporality and meditations on trauma.

Date: 20 January – 4 February 2023
Venue: Oldham Theatre, 1 Canning Rise, Singapore 179868

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Workshop | Storytelling through AR (SMU Community only)
Storytelling through AR is an introductory workshop by The MeshMinds Foundation where participants will learn how digital storytelling and augmented reality (AR) is used for art, culture and heritage. You will be guided on how to use Meta Spark Studio, one of the world’s leading AR platforms, to create your first AR effect.

This event is open to the SMU Community only.

Date: 27 January 2023
Time: 4 - 5.30pm
Venue: Li Ka Shing Library Level 5, Learning Lab 1