Reading strokes: a visual iconography of Rohingya artworks by genocide-survivors

This visual essay embarks on an analytical exploration of participatory, post-trauma based storytelling through painting. It curates, studies and situates the contemporary Rohingya art movement as a global art movement emerging from the history of violence and displacement in the Global South. It focuses on performative act of painting as a post-trauma coping mechanism which contributes to the making, preserving and restoring the collective memory of Rohingya community. The paintings by the Rohingya youths hold specific techniques, themes and purpose to them. In this visual essay, we delve into the visual narratives shared by the Rohingya youth to underscore and understand the dynamic processes that shape and transform the memory of the Rohingya crisis through artworks. The essay consists paintings contributed by Rohingya youth artists such as Muhammad Nur, Enayet Khan, Zainab Lily and Anuwar Faruk.