Blood/stones

Since the 1962 seizure of the Burmese government by the military junta, the Burmese people have suffered significant human rights violations. The country’s rulers have made themselves and a small elite extraordinarily wealthy by exploiting Myanmar’s (Burma’s) vast natural resources and generating large sums of foreign currency through export, among the most lucrative of these resources are the legendary gemstones and minerals found in Burmese earth. Burmese rubies alone, fabled for their deep color, generate close to $500 million USD annually in sales while jade and other stones contribute enormously to the government’s coffers. Although legislation exists in both the United States and the United Kingdom that prevents conflict stones from entering the U.S. and UK economies, there are still nations that are willing to overlook the Burmese government’s abuses and continue to deal in the stones. The Burmese government has continued to profit off of these minerals while denying its citizens basic human rights and carrying out ethnic genocide against the Rohingas.

BLOOD/STONES: Burmese Rubies provides a glimpse into the world of ruby extraction, addressing the crisis that Burmese citizens faced. This exhibit was produced in 2012, just months after the military junta was officially dissolved following the 2010 general election. However today we know that just a decade later in 2021, the military regained control of the country after staging a coup, prompting protests and violence in the streets. The political instability and violence in the country during 2021 and 2022 has led to fear of a civil war and massive displacement, with the UN estimating over one million people are displaced internally or in neighboring countries. Despite these recent events, Burmese rubies are still sold and bought around the world, perpetuating this cycle of abuse and government profit. Holst’s striking images provide a rare look at a country whose rulers have tried to close its people off from the world and offer those who show and view the exhibit an opportunity to bring attention to the people of Myanmar (Burma) and a uniquely intimate view of a society that must not be forgotten.