The Fly —

The Fly was first conceived by Htein Lin in prison and performed for a handful of fellow political prisoners. Only anecdotal accounts document its existence, yet it entered Myanmar’s art history as an absurd masterpiece. Htein Lin performed it many times after his release.

Following the thwarted 1988 democratic uprising in Myanmar, Htein Lin fled into exile and joined the resistance group All Burma Students’ Democratic Front in the jungle. There, internal conflicts led to brutal purges—comrades, driven by paranoia and madness, became more vicious than the military, subjecting him to months of torture. He escaped, but around twenty others were executed. In May 1998, falsely accused of plotting a protest, he was imprisoned for more than six years. His incarceration was a challenge to survive and art was his oxygen. While he was imprisoned again for one year in 2022, his former performance partner Chaw Ei Thein, reenacted the work.

Shot in a single handheld take, The Fly (Paris)’s low-resolution footage shifts between close-ups of Htein Lin’s face, blurred body, and dimly lit glimpses of the performance space. Seated, bound, and naked under a spotlight, he fixates on a droning fly, amplifying his entrapment. His expressions and movements synchronize with the fly’s hum, embodying both captor and captive. In a pivotal moment, Htein Lin catches and eats the fly. His body convulses briefly before transforming—no longer bound, he adopts the fly’s erratic energy. He explores his newfound freedom, now harassing the audience. Like a prisoner absorbing the force that once oppressed him, Htein Lin turns limitation into liberation. Despite relentless persecution, he discovers profound freedom within the focused space of his mind.

Text: Somrak Sila