Bhutan, an act of offering

(From left) Yannick Jooris (Belgium), Deepa Islam (Bangladesh), Jasim Uddin Xecon (Bangladesh), Kama Wangdi (Bhutan) and their pictures that capture enchanting aspects of Bhutan

Kama Wangdi explained about his works, "I've been trying to explore moments of the wind horses, which is a miraculous power and strength. In Bhutan they can bring good luck, life force, influence and merit." The horses looked like flowing winds, done in white and gray and outlined with black. Behind them was a light bulb focusing on the circling sun. "The horses bring out the spiritual energy from the prayer flags. My inspiration comes from the prayer flags and the wind horses." In the next composition the painting was done on old flags, with the wind horses looking in a different direction, with the background of blue and gray. The front was like curtain of printed gray which were old worn out flags, used up in prayer. "I tried to merge the horses with the flags," said Kama. "This is an expression of the universe in a calm situation. The horses, which stood for the positive energy, were seen carrying wish-fulfilling gems."

In another composition Buddha is seen on a painted bunched up cloth and he is surrounded by prayers written on numerous other pieces of gathered and piled together cloth. The one that ends the series of five contained horses once more in white and gray. On top were the swirls of red which stood for the earth. On one end were more scrolls which brought the visual and the "mantras" together. "My paintings and installations are an attempt to explore some of the aspects of the powerful horses and relate their spiritual impact on modern materialistic Buddhist life."

Yannick Jooris, a photographer and video maker from Belgium, who works for UNESCO and has now been working in Bhutan for four years, said, "I am always amazed by the countless ways the people of Bhutan express their daily devotion. From the smallest ritual of water offering in the early mornings to the intricate Tshechu celebrations. It is impossible to focus on a Bhutanese scene without having prayer wheels, prayer flags or chortens (religious relics) in your viewfinder. In this day, it is somehow reassuring that the wisdom of a religion can flow beyond religious boundaries."

Along with the photographs of the mountains, the temples and the people going about their prayers and work, were placed philosophic quotations from the priests. There was a depiction of a prayer flag, torn and fluttering against the wind. The flag was seen against rocks and bushes as well as some mountains in the background. In another photograph of the prayer flag seen with the chorten along with that of the devotees going for prayers to the monastery. Yannick, had also brought in masks and she said, "In each district there is a masked dance during the festivals. Here you see a group of dancers after the performance. In the other picture you see the holy tapestry before which people come to for blessing at 4:00am." At the bottom of the pictures were philosophic observations of the Bhutanese like "Do not encumber your mind with useless thoughts. What good does it do to brood on the past or anticipate the future. Remain in the simplicity of the present moment." Yaanick also had an installation of prayer wheels, which she had done with Kama. They depicted both the inside and outside of the prayer wheel.

Jasim Uddin Xecon, from Bangladesh, said "I was interested in the Buddhist philosophy for a long time and got a taste of it after travelling to Bhutan several times. There they have taken their religion to such a spiritual height that it is not only a religion but a philosophy. You can see eight lucky sign everywhere in Bhutan. Prayer flags and chortens are also a very common sight. The Bhutanese respect these symbols with spiritual faith. My work gives you an image of these important spiritual symbols.

"The Bhutanese hang their lucky signs everywhere, in houses, monasteries, hospitals and offices. There is the parasol that protects the mind from the scorching passion; the goldfish that symbolizes clear perception; the conch that persuades us towards beneficial deeds; the lotus makes us free from all earthly matters; the vase is a repository of limitless knowledge; the eternal knot that represents all theories and philosophies of the universe; the banner proclaims the victory of piety over evil and the wheel sets the motion of the cycle of the law," explained Xecon. These symbols were done on splashes of orange, yellow, red and green. The symbols were placed in gold. The dots, circles and balls represented people.

Deepa Islam, also from Bangladesh, had portraits of Buddha in brown, yellow, blue and green and red. Being a student of Oriental Art, the images were done with precise details. Deepa said, "In this world where peace has become a misnomer, we are in dire need of a great soul like Buddha whose very being radiated peace. To me Buddha is the perfect symbol of peace... for us and for the world. The religion and culture that greeted me in Bhutan was overwhelming. It was as if a breath of fresh air hit me. Bhutan is indeed a peaceful country in this world of war and hate."