This exhibition is organised by the ANU Myanmar Students’ Association (ANUMSA) with support from the ANU Myanmar Research Centre and artist Mayco Naing.

'During the War' brings together the work of three Burmese photographers, Shakeel, Pyay Kyaw Aung, and Ants Are Always Busy, curated by Mayco Naing.

Context

Since the 2021 military takeover, Myanmar has entered a sustained revolutionary and armed conflict. Across the country, the military junta has sought to consolidate authority through controlled political processes, while resistance movements, civil disobedience networks, and local defence forces continue to operate amid fragmentation, displacement, and violence.

Within this environment, Burmese photographers have persisted in documenting lived realities across the country, often under conditions of risk, injury, exile, and limited mobility. Their images trace both frontline conflict and the quieter infrastructures of survival that sustain resistance communities.

The Photographers

Shakeel
Shakeel’s work extends beyond the battlefield, documenting refugee camps, the aftermath of Civil Disobedience Movement participation, and emerging economies along the Myanmar–Thailand border near Mae Sot, including scam operations shaped by conflict displacement. His practice situates war within its broader social and humanitarian consequences.

Pyay Kyaw Aung
An award-winning photographer and former journalist, Pyay Kyaw Aung has worked extensively across Myanmar’s Dry Zone (Anyar) since 2022. Following resistance groups across Magway, Sagaing, Bago, Rakhine, and Shan States, he documents both armed struggle and civilian life. As principal photographer for the “96 Soldiers” People’s Defence Force, he moves independently across conflict zones, often travelling on foot or motorbike with minimal equipment.

Ants Are Always Busy
Working under a pseudonym, Ants Are Always Busy documents local resistance units in regions including Tanintharyi and Kayah (Karenni). His work incorporates coverage of drone warfare and contemporary resistance tactics, blending documentary photography with analogue experimentation and aesthetics drawn from portraiture, fashion, and commercial imagery.

Screening Program

The exhibition includes a screening component displayed on TV monitors, featuring three short documentary films (approximately three minutes each) by the participating photographers. A music video produced by People’s Defence Force soldiers—filmed within active conflict zones and credited to Maung Nyan—adds a first-person visual account of life inside the revolution.

About the Exhibition

'During the War' is part of a broader archival and research initiative at the Australian National University. The photographers worked independently, often without expectation of publication or exhibition, while continuing to document unfolding events under conditions of danger, displacement, and loss.

The exhibition takes its conceptual reference from the poem စစ်ကြီးအတွင်းမှာ (“During the War”) by Bagan poet Myat Wai, framing the works as both testimony and preservation.

Together, these images from a visual archive of Myanmar’s ongoing revolution, honouring the endurance of those who document it from within.

Image caption: An ink marking is applied to the sole of a Burmese migrant infant’s foot for identification at Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand. Born into displacement along the Myanmar–Thailand border, this generation follows those who voted in 2015 and 2020, yet continues to live in conditions where rights, recognition, and belonging remain uncertain.

Image credit: Shakeel

The 2026 Myanmar Update is supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific; and The Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEVAW Project # CE230100004).

Contact the host of 2026 Myanmar Update: Photo Exhibition 'During the War'