An enigma in pastel shades, the picture of a fish behind bars, at once poignant and pregnant with meaning, was painted by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi while under house arrest in 2009. It is now being auctioned to raise money for the non-profit Daw Khin Kyi Foundation.
The charity was established in 2010 by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, in memory of her mother Daw Khin Kyi, to promote the health, education and living standards of the people of Myanmar.
The online auction opened on November 1, when the state counsellor began her visit to Japan, with a minimum bid of US$5000, and the bidding has now reached $150,000, said Mg Mg Aye, director and presenter of Dream Boat Entertainment.
“I don’t think the painting should be owned by a single person,” he said.
The fish in the painting is fenced in, and swims apparently under the eye of guards in a blockhouse. It is huge; they are tiny.
One poster, Min Thit Khant, said, “I think the painting’s message is that she lived in the face of suffocating circumstances.”
Artist Aye Ko, 53, a leading member of the Myanmar Contemporary Art Movement, said, “The picture reflects her state of mind, which sought freedom while under house arrest. The fish is big, but the house is small. It seems to violate the laws of perspective.”
The winning bidder so far, U A Yay Kyo, general secretary of the Myanmar Automobile Manufacturers and Distributors Association (Yangon Region), said, “I like Mother Suu a lot and regard her as a priceless asset to our country. I want to own her painting very much and bid almost all my properties. I don’t know what was going through her mind when she drew the painting, but it conveys the feeling of suffocation. If I win the auction, I will keep the painting.” The auction will be held on November 25 at Sedona Hotel, Yangon, (from 6:30pm to 9pm) and the winner will be presented with the picture by Thura U Tin Oo, veteran patron of the National League for Democracy. It is a watercolour and pastel work, measuring 24-by-16cm. Tickets for the event will go on sale soon.
Source: Myanmar Times
