Chuu Wai

Born and raised in Myanmar, Chuu Wai’s art has an inherent honesty and cultural endurance. Her artistic impulse found an outlet after a sexual harassment encounter on the streets of Myanmar at the age of 18. Triggering from this traumatic event was a series of works with many layers which both conceal and reveal. Her paintings depict the many ways society controls and scrutinises women and the ways that women resist this through an evolving culture. She sees her art as part of that evolution, which has resulted in more than 30 national and international exhibitions in London, Luxembourg, Paris, Hong Kong, Canberra, Yangon and Mandalay.

Chuu’s artworks tackle social and gender injustice. She conveys shape-shifting female portraits with distinct, bold brush strokes on multiple seamless materials. These different works tell their own stories: traditional fabrics represent cultural repression; intercontinental collage backgrounds highlight an international approach to women beyond the narrow frame of national culture; masqueraded women symbolise those who are trapped within traditional expectations; and prominent women figures are spotlighted as the essential formal elements in her artwork. She sees her art as part of that evolution, which has resulted in more than 30 national and international exhibitions in London, Luxembourg, Paris, Hong Kong, Canberra, Yangon and Mandalay.