Dancers from Afar, by Htein Lin

Dancers from Afar

During his time in prison, Htein Lin didn’t want to focus only on prison life. He also sought to capture the world beyond the prison walls. This piece was printed using unconventional tools, real lips, a fishing net, and the cap of a paint bottle.

Imprisoned for nearly seven years for his beliefs, Htein Lin created a body of visual work in captivity that is striking in its inventiveness. With no brushes or canvas, he devised techniques using whatever was at hand: lighter wheels, syringes, soap, nets, fragments of mirror, and paint either found or bartered. These makeshift materials became the tools of a deeper quest—to stay alive inside, to keep thinking, to remember, to forgive. His artistic practice is deeply rooted in Buddhist values of compassion, clarity, and non-violence.