E Anonymous Women template 4

Following the illegal coup on February 1st, 2021, Myanmar’s military(Tatmaday) continues to use violent and inhumane tactics to erase the face, voice, and identity of Myanmar’s people. When the coup happened, our safety, voice, identity, future and freedom wrongfully taken from us.

One of the saddest things we experienced after the coup was we completely lost the freedom of expression. For at least ten years, everyone, including myself, has had a taste of freedom. The coup took away the freedom of expression and our identity (including the right to express who we are). We can no longer hold a camera and shoot films or take photographs freely, especially in places like Rangoon. Life-threatening threats are not rare, and we lost our sense of safety and security. I also lost my existence, my identity.

I was detained for three days. After I release, I didn’t hold my camera. I felt it was no longer possible to take the risk. At that moment, I realized the loss of freedom of expression and my identity. Although I exist, I lose a sense of who I am and don’t feel safe even living at home. I deeply felt sad. Then, I started creating “losing identity” and “losing freedom of expression” art projects. We have lost our freedom of expression now, yet our generation has a history of growing up under censorship. I traced how was life without freedom of expression. The present, the future, and the past where we don’t have freedom of expression and cannot fully be alive as who we really are.

Each photo represent their own journey of losing freedom of expression.