Red Road is new collaboration between video artist Zarchi and composer/sound artist Itö that considers the continuing state of crisis in Myanmar. Over the six years of the current civil war, the hillside town of Kalaw – accessed by the uneven, unsurfaced red earth roads that give their work its title – has become a site of escape, which in the artists’ installation signifies not retreat or defeat, but a necessary pause for survival, regrouping, and building resilience for a fight to come.
The two artists have felt drawn towards the quiet resistance that these ‘red roads’ offer them. Itö walked many of these roads in resistance and was arrested as a result. While he was gone, Moe went to Kalaw and waited, carrying that distance. The roads hold memory and uncertainty, but also connection, grounding and the strength to keep going.
Video Artist: Moe Myat May Zarchi
Composer/Sound Artist: Itö