In the framework of the Atelier KITLV program, from February the 22nd until the 26th, KITLV guest researcher Kerstin Winking shares a photo story about the making of Painting Exile via KITLV’s Instagram.

Painting Exile is a film by Dev Benegal and Kerstin Winking about an encounter with the Burmese Canadian painter Sawangwongse Yawnghwe in his studio in Zutphen, a small town in the Netherlands. Yawnghwe was born in 1971 in a jungle camp in Shan State (Burma/Myanmar). He is the grandchild of Burma’s first president Sao Shwe Thaik, who was assassinated by military commander Ne Win’s regime in 1962. In his studio, Yawnghwe engages with haunting images of family members and family friends, working through Myanmar’s conflicted past in present times.

Painting Exile will premiere later in 2022. More information about Painting Exile will be published on KITLV’s website and social media channels. Stay tuned.

Photos: The painter Sawangwongse Yawnghwe at work in his studio. Photography: Dev Benegal.