Intermission On Stage Premieres Myanmar Censored Art

YANGON, Myanmar - Dec. 30, 2013 - PRLog -- Yangon, Myanmar (30 December 2014) – Paula Tin Nyo, Founder & CEO of Yone Arts (yonearts.com (http://www.yonearts.com)) is pleased to announce “Intermission on Stage”, the premiere of a groundbreaking performance installation by Soe Naing and a group exhibition of work by artists from her native country of Myanmar during Art Stage Singapore 2014 at Marina Bay Sands Convention Center.  “Intermission on Stage” represents the first curated group exhibition in a major international art fair and focuses on the artistic expression of Myanmar during the military regime years of isolation and censorship.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to expose the talent, the authenticity and the stories of my homeland after so many years of distance and opacity between Myanmar and the rest of the world,” remarked Ms. Tin Nyo.  In addition to a curated booth, Yone Arts will present the Ten Thousand Diary Sketches of artist Soe Naing in Art Stage’s showcased Southeast Asian platform.  Ten thousand diary sketches, which were created by Soe Naing as a daily vigil during the military regime years of censorship and isolation, will be contained in a black box approximately the size of a railroad car.  During the four days of the art fair, Soe Naing will reveal his diary sketches by removing black paint in his signature calligraphic style from the front wall of the blackened box.  “I want to see how I paint when people are watching.  I have worked alone for many years and I think this will be challenging,” said Soe Naing, who requested a video feed of the wall from the outside, as he paints it, during the art fair.

Ms. Tin Nyo is a third generation artist and intellectual from Myanmar, whose grandfather, Edward Law Yone, was the editor and publisher of The Nation, the influential post-colonial newspaper of Myanmar, prior to the military regime.  “I chose this work and these artists based on the mission statement of Yone Arts:  Freedom of Expression is the Defining Right of Humankind,”  stated Ms. Tin Nyo.

Paula Tin Nyo’s personal story of how Yone Arts came to fruition is quite fascinating. On her first visit back to home soil, Paula was at Inle Lake, a famous Myanmar agricultural site known for its one-legged rowers and many monasteries.  She found herself gazing at a pillared temple gate with the customary symbol of Myanmar, the elegant and proud peacock on one side, but mysteriously, the symbol of the humble rabbit on the other.  This intrigued her, especially since she was born in the year of the rabbit.   A monk at the neighborhood tea shop revealed the yin yang of these symbols:  “Both the rabbit and the peacock are symbols of Myanmar.  The peacock is like the sun; it shows itself more readily.  The rabbit is like the moon, it remains in the darkness, but shines from the reflected light.  Both are necessary.”

The next day, Paula went to Inle Market and bought some silk.  Over the customary ye new xian (Myanmar green tea) and peanuts with their red skins still on,  Paula exchanged some brief words about her journey home and her family to the silk merchant.  This weathered man said he had met her grandfather, Edward Law Yone, Editor-in-Chief and publisher of the influential post-colonial newspaper The Nation.  The merchant carefully wrote some curvilinear Myanmar characters on a scrap of recycled paper and handed it to her.  “You should come here and do business. Call it Yone and it will be a success.”

Paula looked at the paper and asked him what it meant.  Yone, he explained meant different things depending on the pronunciation, writing and context.  Yone means “Office or Bureau.”  It also means “Rabbit.”  And if it is combined with other words, it means,  “I believe you” and  “You believe me.”  So it was that, on the advice of a lotus silk merchant, Yone Arts was spun into the business of bridging trust and bringing hidden treasures to light.

"Intermission on Stage" will open during Art Stage Singapore's Vernissage on Wednesday, 14 January 2014, 4 – 6 PM by Invitation Only.  Soe Naing will perform in the showcased Southeast Asian platform, by removing black paint from within a blackened box and providing a glimpse of his 10,000 diary sketches.  It will be a true celebration of the potential of freedom of expression in Myanmar in an international fair that is the main venue for Southeast Asian contemporary art in the world.

Additionally, both Paula Tin Nyo and Soe Naing will be speaking on Friday 17 January at 2pm during the fair in a moderated panel discussion on the contemporary art of Myanmar and Cambodia. Recently, Ms. Tin Nyo presented her work about Yone Arts and the journey that brought together her groundbreaking group of artists from the emerging country of Myanmar at a Yale sponsored Symposium during Basel Week on Friday, December 6 from 2-6 PM at the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach.

ABOUT YONE ARTS - Yone Arts was formed to promote the exchange of culture and resources between Myanmar and the international community through the emerging work of Myanmar contemporary artists.  It provides the environment in which individual collectors and global organizations can connect organically with the evolving arts and culture of Myanmar.  It channels investment of intellectual and financial resources into meaningful projects between these entities.  It releases barriers and shift perceptions in order to create emotional and fiscal wealth for the artistic global community. yonearts.com (http://www.yonearts.com)

Yone Arts believes that freedom of expression is the defining right of humankind.

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ABOUT PAULA TIN NYO - Paula Tin Nyo, a native of Myanmar and a graduate of Yale University, is an art consultant dedicated to improving cross-cultural awareness, goodwill and prosperity through creativity in the business model.  Born in Yangon, Myanmar, Tin Nyo is a third generation artist and writer from the premiere media family in post-colonial Burma.  As one of the intellectual and artistic diaspora now returning to Myanmar after four decades of its isolation, she contributes her robust background in cultural education, writing and media ethics.  Tin Nyo envisions strong economic relationships between Myanmar and the rest of the world in order to provide prosperity and depth in a multidimensional framework that makes connections across sectors of arts, media, industry and social progress. She draws from her experience in advertising, education, arts management and writing to initiate communication and actualize opportunities for Myanmar and parties interested in her native country’s development.