Speed of Life

by Gregg Chadwick The Lady , a new film by director Luc Besson inspired by the life of Burma's courageous Aung San Suu Kyi and her husband Michael Aris, opens for a limited release this week at Laemmle's Music Hall Theatre in Beverly Hills. This engagement will run from December 2 - December 8, 2011. The film stars Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh as Suu Kyi and David Thewlis as her husband Michael Aris. The Los Angeles Times explains that the film is "a timely political drama" about the volatile political events in Burma as well as "a love story about the uncommon bond that existed between Suu Kyi and her late husband, Michael Aris ... an Oxford University scholar and Asian specialist, Aris took charge of raising the couple's two sons in England while his wife was held captive in her homeland, and he worked tirelessly to raise Western awareness of his wife's fight for democracy." The Lady was shot mainly in Thailand using Burmese refugee...

by Gregg Chadwick Gregg Chadwick Road to Mandalay 40"x30" oil on linen 2011 “For decades Americans have been deeply concerned about the denial of basic human rights for the Burmese people. The persecution of democratic reformers, the brutality shown toward ethnic minorities and the concentration of power in the hands of a few military leaders has challenged our conscience and isolated Burma from the United States and much of the world. After years of darkness, we’ve seen flickers of progress in these last several weeks as the president and Parliament in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, have taken steps toward reform. Of course there’s far more to be done." -President Barack Obama, November 2011 (Statement on Burma delivered at the 2011 Pacific Rim Meeting in Bali, Indonesia) Four years after the Saffron Revolution in Burma, enough progress towards a free Burma has been made that President Barack Obama is sending Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on a tr...

photo courtesy European Pressphoto Agency Aung San Suu Kyi greets supporters after being freed today Burmese pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been freed from house arrest today in Burma. Much more to follow. Details at: Burmese Dissident Is Freed After Long Detention Gregg Chadwick The Road to Mandalay 40"x30" oil on linen 2007 Currently at Julie Nester Gallery

Gregg Chadwick "The Saffron Road" 40"x90" oil on linen 2007