Actress and singer Cho Pyone poses next to her portrait, which was photographed by U Htein Win. Pic: Aung Kyaw Pyke

PHOTOGRAPHER U Htein Win says it has been his lifelong ambition to display a selection of his portraits of prominent Myanmar writers, singers, artists and actors.

He got his chance with a two-day exhibit of 45 of his photographs from June 24 to 25, but he said he saw the show as a practice run for a bigger exhibit he plans for November.

Last month’s display included candid shots of performing artists such as actress Myo Thandar Htun, actress and singer Cho Pyone, and singer She.

However, most of the portraits were of prominent authors living and deceased, including Maung Su San, Moe Hein, Saya Paragu, Nu Yin, Aung Thinn, Ma Myat Lay, U Htay Maung, Min Yu Wai, Dagon Taya and Min Thu Wun.

“I grew up reading their profound literature, so they are the people I have really admired throughout my life,” U Htein Win said.

At the same time, he said he was interested in expanding his collection to include more singers and musicians.

“I would like to photograph more people like Saing Htee Saing, Maung Ko Ko, Zaw Win Htut, Lay Phyu and Tin Zar Maw,” he said.

U Htein Win said his interest in portrait photography dates back to when he was young, but it really took off when he was a university student.

“In the 1970s I was shown a book at university containing a collection of photos of world-famous artists, and since then I’ve taken photographs of Myanmar artists whenever I get chance,” he said.

Because of the venue, last month’s show was limited to an audience of 50, which mostly consisted of people in the local arts community and their relatives.

However, he said he was pleased to see a select group of media representatives at the show looking at his work and commenting on it.

“It’s really difficult for me to hold a photo exhibition on my own because of the great cost,” U Htein Win said, adding that the cost of exhibiting at hotels and other well-known venues in Yangon is about K1 million.

He said he is saving his money to hold an exhibition of about 100 portraits at a local hotel by November 23, when he turns 60 years old.

Although the exhibition at the British Ambassador’s residence marked the first time U Htein Win showed his celebrity portraits, he was contracted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to take photos of families infected with HIV/AIDS, which were shown at Dusit Inya Lake Hotel in 2004.

Last year at Nikko Royal Lake Hotel, he exhibited photographs he took for WHO and United Nations Population Fund depicting the lives of pregnant mothers and rural families.

U Htein Win said he would also like to publish a photo book of his artist portraits accompanied by short biographies, adding that the completion of the project will depend on his financial situation.

Meanwhile, the celebrities who attended the exhibition seemed pleased to be the subjects of U Htein Win’s photography.

Singer She said she was happy to see a candid photo of herself on display.
“It was a real surprise for me because I didn’t even know he took the photo, but I like it because it’s full of emotion and life,” she said.

She said it was also good to see portraits of famous authors, who are sometimes hard to meet in person.

“Now I know who they are and what they look like, and the candid shots reveal a lot about their nature,” she said.

Chit Oo Nyo, a writer in his 50s whose portrait was also on display, said he got great pleasure from seeing photographs of so many prominent artists on display in the same place.

“It’s a great record for ourselves, as well as for those who want to study the history of the media industry,” he said.

Actress and director Myo Thandar Htun could barely find words to express her pleasure at seeing her own photograph, which was taken at the opening ceremony of Yangon City Hall’s Thingyan pandal four years ago.

“I didn’t even notice when he took my photo,” she said with a long, slow breath and a smile.