Busui Ajaw

Busui Ajaw was born into a family of seven sisters, steeped in the myths, traditions, and spiritual beliefs of the Akha people from the highlands of Southeast Asia. Her joyful childhood in nature was abruptly disrupted at fifteen when the family fled to escape crossfires of violent clashes between the Myanmar military and the United Wa State Army (UWSA)—one of the largest armed militias in Myanmar. The onslaught that began with land destruction, the occupation of agricultural areas, and the draining of rivers, escalated to theft, rape, methamphetamine distribution, the use of men as human shields in minefields, and extrajudicial killings, ultimately forcing the Akha from their homes. Crossing rivers and mountains, they left behind a lawless homeland only to face new oppression as illegal stateless labor migrants in Thailand. This traumatic journey profoundly shaped Ajaw’s art, inspiring her to develop a visual language marked by isolation and meditation that reconnects with her spiritual roots and conveys her inner turmoil, anxiety, and alienation.

Ajaw’s series of five paintings not only bears witness to this brutal violence. The artist also evokes memories of her village by an abundant river, the vanishing Akha way of life, and the loss of spiritual traditions, such as oral rituals and objects that were largely erased by early twentieth-century missionary activity. She views her resilience as a series of rebirths—like a tree that, with each fall, deepens its roots and rises stronger to preserve the fading legacy of the Akha and their primordial lineage.

Text: Somrak Sila