KINGS IN UNIFORM

Hkinn's photographs from Myanmar showcase the impact of military rule in her country

- NIRMAL JOVIAL

In February 2021, when the military seized power in Myanmar after detaining leaders like Aung San Suu Kyi, photographer Hkinn’s prophecy came true. The 30-year-old activist and artist, who prefers to hide her official name for security reasons, told me that she knew a coup was in the offing when she worked on her photographic series, Soulless City, which was completed in 2019.

The series, currently on display at the Kochi Muziris Biennale, tells a compelling tale of ordinary citizens against the backdrop of Myanmar’s modern capital Naypyidaw—a brainchild of former military leader Than Shwe. Naypyidaw, which means the abode of kings in Burmese, has numerous areas that are off-limits for civilians. The military’s version was that the former capital, Yangon, had become congested and Naypyidaw was strategically located. It replaced Yangon as the administrative capital of Myanmar in 2005. There are many like Hkinn who believe that superstitions, megalomania and paranoia of the military leadership, and their intent to keep power away from the citizenry, led to the construction of Naypyidaw.

“The city was not built for the people; it was built to show off the military’s might. That is why I named my series, Soulless City,” says Hkinn, who was born and brought up in Yangon. “The political situation in my country is so complex. There has been a civil war going on for more than 60 years.… Even when there was a civil government, the military held 25 per cent seats in parliament. Military operations and military-related budgets were not overseen by the civil government.”