A BENTHAM artist is exhibiting his paintings on Burma to the European Parliament this week.

Chris Robinson, 52, flew out to Brussels on Monday to set up a unique exhibition of his work on the people of Burma, which will be officially opened by European MPs on April 16.

The exhibition, which is the outcome of a trip to Burma, will then be moved to the cultural centre in the middle of Brussels on April 23.

While in Burma, Chris met Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi - the icon of the democracy movement - and painted several portraits at her home in Rangoon where she spent six years under house arrest.

Chris, who trained at the Royal Academy, was inspired by his own Burmese roots.

He spent several months recording contemporary Burma, disguised as a Buddhist monk and armed with only his camera and sketching materials.

Chris said it was necessary to keep up the disguise to gain accurate information without the interference of protective military intelligence.

He said: "I became a Buddhist monk to discover how people lived. When disguised as a monk, I could keep myself from the military intelligence because in Burma you can only really walk around if you're on a guided tour."

Called Looking for Burma, the exhibition includes paintings of temples, monks, the poor and some images of the massacres which took place.

It also features Burmese-inspired etchings by children from Low Bentham Primary School, which were completed during a series of workshops run by Chris.

Previously, the exhibition had been shown at Lancaster Arts and Events after which Chris had hoped to take it to the Houses of Parliament and to other countries.

Two of his paintings have since been used in a campaign by Amnesty International.

Chris, who is married to district nurse Ann Robinson, has been a professional artist for 30 years.

They live in the aptly named Painted House in Low Bentham with their two daughters Grace and Bridget.

During his career he has exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Academy and worldwide.

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