Asia
Aung Ko
They burn our village
2022
They burn our village, 2022
They burn our village by Aung Ko is part of the artist’s daily visual diary as an attempt to process and note what has been happening in Myanmar while he is being exiled, following the military takeover of the government in February 2021. Almost two years ago, Myanmar’s military ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and seized power in a coup. Since then, the country has descended into turmoil. The military has used violence and terror to stamp out dissent and silence opponents. Alongside massacres, the military has increasingly deployed a scorched earth campaign as part of its intensifying reign of terror, burning villages and buildings in other civilian areas, such as the one in the background of this drawing.
Aung Ko works with painting, film, installation, and performance. As an artist, Aung Ko’s work is an ongoing commentary on modern Myanmar’s political and social contexts. Censorship, injustice, and power are themes he often explores. In 2007 he started an ongoing art project in his village titled Thuye’dan Village Art Project. The village’s primary source of income is charcoal production. The village is isolated, and because of the ammunition factory nearby, the inhabitants live in fear, while visitors and the public are generally forbidden. Aung Ko and his wife Nge Lay have invited artists to create performances, mobile sculptures, and other artworks collaborating with the village and its residents.