Moe Satt
Other Side of Revolution (silver), 2018
Performance photograph printed on Hahnemühle Photo Matt Fibre 200 g/m²
60 x 71 cm
Framed size: 70 x 81 cm
Framed size: 70 x 81 cm
Other Side of Revolution (2018) is a photographic diptych of Satt’s torso, silver and gold, showing the artist with clenched fists held protectively to the body, or with fists pointing...
Other Side of Revolution (2018) is a photographic diptych of Satt’s torso, silver and gold, showing the artist with clenched fists held protectively to the body, or with fists pointing up to the sky. Produced in 2018, when Myanmar appeared to have at last moved on from decades of military rule to democracy, albeit fragile, the duo speaks of the legacy of revolution as part of present and future, a never forgotten genealogy of nation-making-in-progress. The images, as if celebrating silver and gold anniversaries of past revolutions, configure a bittersweet visual appeal, heightened by the sculptural form of Moe Satt’s bare chest. But the silver and gold torsos bear markings that, as explained by the artist, can be read as stamps or bruises, testament to the solidarity of Burmese people who, even if young or unborn during the country’s 20th century emancipatory uprisings—1948, when the Burmese won independence from colonial Britain; 1988, when students led demonstrations for democracy; the 2007 Saffron Revolution spearheaded by the Buddhist Sangha—are integral to national struggles. Crisp performative photography, the body, and luminous silver and gold form an aesthetically compelling answer to the messiness of history.