About
Shwe Wutt Hmon (b. 1986) is a photographer and visual artist from Myanmar, currently based in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Shwe’s work focuses on collective histories, familial ties, the knots and threads of human relationships, and exploring the inner psyche through intimate storytelling about people and places dear to her heart. She tells personal stories to connect with and examine broader social aspects; conversely, she works on social documentaries reflecting and drawing from her own position within the issue. Shwe uses photography as her main medium and incorporates archives, videos, texts, poems, paintings, and drawings of her own or in collaboration with others.
Shwe is the recipient of respected art and photography awards including the Objectifs Documentary Award 2020 (Open Category) and the inaugural Julius Baer Next Generation Art Prize in 2021. Her works have been exhibited internationally in art festivals and spaces such as Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2020, Aichi Triennale 2022, Thailand Biennale, Chiang Rai 2023 with 'Zomia Pavilion', Singapore International Photography Festival 2020, Photo Australia International Festival of Photography 2022, ArtScience Museum Singapore, Bangkok Art & Culture Centre, Photoforum Pasquart, and Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam.
Shwe has also participated in and been featured in many educational and residency programs. Some of these include being a selected participant in the 13th Angkor Photo Workshop in 2017, the South Asia Incubator 1 at Photo Kathmandu 2018, World Press Photo’s 2020 Joop Swart Masterclass, British Journal of Photography's Ones to Watch 2021, Foam Talent 2024-2025, and as an artist in residence at Villa Sträuli in Winterthur, Switzerland, in early 2020, supported by Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council, New Delhi, and Southeast Asia artist residency at Rimbun Dahan in Kuang, Malaysia in 2023.
Shwe is currently an M.F.A (Visual Arts) candidate at Chiang Mai University.
Curriculum Vitae
Selected Solo Exhibitions
- “Portraits of the Anonymous” Exhibition at CounihanGallery in Melbourne, Australia from 4th February to 30th April 2023
- “Noise and Cloud and Us” Exhibition, incollaboration with Kyi Kyi Thar, curated by Guo-Liang Tan, presented as aculmination of the Objectifs Documentary Award 2020 (Open Category) at ChapelGallery, Objectifs in Singapore, from 24th June to 18th July 2021
Selected Art Festival Exhibitions
- “Noise Are Too Close Here” at Zomia Pavillionas part of Thailand Biennale Chiang Rai 2023 at Singhaklai House from 12December 2023 – 28 February 2024
- “Portraits of the Anonymous” at 18thEdition of Angkor Photo Festival in Siem Reap from 6th to 16thJanuary 2023
- “Forever Young” as part of Kochi-MuzirisBiennale 2022-23 "In Our Veins Flow Ink And Fire" curated by ShubigiRao at Anand Warehouse, Fort Kochi, India from 12th December 2022 to10th April 2023
- “NoiseAnd Cloud And Us” at Aichi Triennale 2022, Aichi Arts Center Nagoya, AichiPrefecture, Japan, 30th July - 10th October 2022
- “OnlyClouds Know” as part of the “A BellRings Across The Valley” Group Exhibition which isan official exhibition of PHOTO 2022 International Festival of Photography, Footscray Community Arts, Roslyn SmorgonGallery, Melbourne, 12 April - 26 June 2022
- “Dharmatā”at Singapore International Photography Festival 2020, Open Call Showcase, Block 3, Level 2, 37Emerald Hill, Singapore, 13 Nov 2020 — 30 Jan 2021
Selected Group Exhibitions
- “I DoMiss Hospital Visit” as part of the Foam Talent 2024-2025 Exhbition at FoamFotografiemuseum Amsterdam from 23 Feburary – 22 May 2024
- “Drivethe Devils Out” as part of the Prix Photoforum 2022 at Photoforum Pasquart,Biel/Bienne, Switzerland from 4th December 2022 to 15thJanuary 2023
- "IDo Miss Hospital Visit" as part of Shi Exhibition in Yangon, Myanmarorganized by Goethe Institute Myanmar from 12th November 2022 to 12th January2023
- “Noise and Cloud and Us” (in collaborationwith Kyi Kyi Thar ) is part of MENTAL: Colours of Wellbeing Exhibition at ArtScienceMuseum Singapore from 3rd September 2022 to 26th February 2023
- “Tribute To Fallen Heroes” at “365 daysafter…” group exhibition, Bangkok Art & Culture Center, 1 – 27 February2022
- “Dharmatā”at “Disclosure” Touring Exhibition, Dawei Art Space, Dawei, Myanmar, 28 August – 19 September 2020
- “Dharmatā”at Villa Sträuli, VillaSträuli, Winterthur, Switzerland, 20 - 25 February 2020
- “Knots” Exhibition, duet exhibition with fellowThuma Collective member Yu Yu Myint Than, in Yangon on January 2020
- “Dharmatā”at Pursuing Arts in Research Festival, TheSecretariat, Yangon, Myanmar, 30 November – 03 December 2019
- “Disclosure” Exhibition, Thuma Collective’ssecond group exhibition, in Yangon on September 2019
- “Bridging the Naf” Exhibition, collaborativeproject between Thuma Collective and Kaali Collective from Bangladesh, inYangon on June 2019
- “Us & Beyond” Thuma Collective’s first groupexhibition in Yangon on May 2018
- Asian Women Photographers’ Showcase inSingapore, November 2017
Training and Education
- Joop Swart Masterclass 2020 by World Press Photo
- Contemporary Documentary Photography PracticeCourse by Myanmar Deitta in Yangon from October 2019 to May 2020
- “Developing A Project Narrative/SelfPortraiture” mentored by Abby Robinson on December 2019
- “Photographing Our Physical and EmotionalConnection to Place and Environment” mentored by Katrin Koenning on November2019
- “Seeing the Light: Streets of Rangoon” Workshopmentored by Philip Blenkinsop and Daniel Schwartz on October 2019
- “From TheTheory To The Book” Workshop with VALENTINA ABENAVOLI / AKINA BOOKS on October2019
- Photo Book Making Workshop by Lukas Birk inYangon on February 2019
- Invisible Photographer Asia Mentorship programby Kevin WY Lee in 2018
- Angkor Photo Professional Workshop, mentored byAntoine D’AGATA and Sohrab HURA in Siem Reap on December 2017
- “Editing, Sequencing and Design of a Photobook”Workshop by Calin Kruse in Yangon on August 2017
- Workshop for Woman Photographers: Story TellingThrough Images by Ari Espay in Yangon on February 2017
Residencies
- Southeast Asian Arts Residency at Rimbun Dahanin Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on February and June 2023
- Art Residency at Villa Sträuli in Winterthur, Switzerland on January-February2020
Awards and Recognitions
- Foam Talent 2024-2025
- British Journal of Photography's Ones to Watch2021
- First prize (still image category) in theinaugural Julius Baer Next Generation Art Prize 2021
- Objectifs Documentary Award 2020 (OpenCatagoery) from the Objectifs Center ofPhotography
- South Asia Incubator 1 selected participant atPhoto Kathmandu 2018
Featured in Publications
- FoamMagazine #65 Talent (2024-2025) Issue
- “LivingPictures: Photography in South East Asia” catalogue by National GallerySingapore, Published in 2022
- British Journalof Photography July/August 2021: Ones to Watch Issue