Brisbane Powerhouse Exhibition Press Release

“Yangon, A City To Rescue”

Photo Exhibition &  Book Launch

Brisbane Powerhouse

20 August – 15 September 2013
Opening Night 22 August 2013 @ 630 pm

“There’s no trace of Hong Kong’s colonial past left in the city’s architecture – it’s all been torn down.” “The city has lost its historical architectural identity.   Don’t let that happen to Yangon!”  It’s stern warnings like these that came from a range of experts who attended the recent Yangon Heritage Trust’s International Conference.  The YHT had put out a call out for help to save Yangon’s colonial buildings, and documentary photographers Jacques Maudy and Jimi Casaccia felt compelled to answer!  The result is a stunning body of images of these buildings, soon to be published in a glossy high-quality publication titled Yango, a City to Rescue.

Yangon is an Asian city on the cusp of rapid growth and change.  Fast-built sharp, modern buildings might be sprouting-up quickly, but there’s no crowding-out the stunning and intact architectural jewels that help tell the story of Burma’s colonial past.  Wander down just about any street in the city of six million people and you’ll see them – from apartment buildings, to dramatic public structures.  Until now, Burma’s relative isolation from the rest of the globe has vicariously helped to preserve these stunning examples of grander times in the country’s history.  Now, as the government makes tentative steps towards democracy, there’s a rush of economic interest in Burma from the outside world that almost threatens to overwhelm the country.

It’s a state of affairs that’s also echoed in the fate of the city’s colonial buildings, many of which have already been demolished because of their poor state of repair, or to simply make way for the new.  It didn’t take any convincing for Jimi Casaccia and Jacques Maudy to volunteer to help the YHT tell the story of Burma’s proud past.   Working on the cusp of Burma’s dramatic monsoon season, they managed to capture vivid images of Yangon’s colonial buildings in a way that’s never been seen before.  In the process, the resulting photographs give the outside world a tantalising glimpse of this fascinating country and its proud people, who are also experiencing a rapid rate of change.

Jacques and Jimi have documented Yangon’s colonial buildings in the most comprehensive suite of awe-inspiring images that have ever been produced of Yangon’s colonial buildings.  Their photographs allow the majesty of these buildings to speak for themselves, and are so vital that you’ll literally gasp at the majestic height buildings like the High Court.   You’ll marvel too at the majesty of the historic Secretariat building – the main seat of government in Burma until quite recently.  Few civilians have ever been allowed inside this stunning building since the assassination of General Aung San –  Nobel prize Aung San Sui Kyi’s father in 1947.

Jacques and Jimi’s photographs have already generated a huge amount of excitement when they were appropriately exhibited on the walls of Yangon’s historic Strand Hotel during the May/June YHT International Conference.  These images also helped in part to draw the government’s attention to the vast architectural wealth that it possesses.   As the conference concluded, the government announced that it would withdraw demolition permits on a number of historic buildings in the city while the Trust mapped the city’s most important buildings that MUST be saved.

Yangon is truly a city to rescue!

  • What: Opening of the Exhibition and book launch of Yangon a City to rescueWhen: 22 August 2013 at 630 pmWhere: Brisbane Powerhouse 119 Lamington St New Farm QLD 4005
    Jody Haines Curator and Exhibitions Coordinator Media: High res photos are available in the required format. Jacques Maudy is available for interviewsThe book can be ordered on line at https://www.jjmcphoto.com/order-book-yangon/

     

     

 

 

 

Brisbane Powerhouse
119 Lamington St
New Farm QLD 4005

Jody Haines
Curator and Exhibitions Coordinator

Book cover Yangon a City to Rescue

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