| I have been making art based on ideas that have come from both my imagination and from Eastern philosophies, especially Buddhism. Through my studies, I have realized that some central ideas of Buddhism support my understanding of life and making art. I have intensively studied mandala paintings from Tibet . The mandala is a map of the universe. Its structure has been delineated in numerous Buddhist sutras. The sutras explain the fantastic world of the universe: the macrocosm and the microcosm contain the same structure, sesame seed sized Buddhas and bodhisattvas fill in all the space, and so on. The subjects of my art works are stories told in Buddhism in conjunction with my kaleidoscopic inner world. My inner world is related to my Karma that is described by the images, dealing with emotions from personal memories, intuition, and imagination. . The process of making art is involved with repetition of the same movement. Similar to monks who meditate upon Emptiness, sitting on the same spot and facing the wall for days, months, or years, I repeat the same movement, mostly sewing, for hours and hours in order to complete my works of art. While doing so, my mind becomes Empty, losing track of time, and eventually, the repetition of the same movement is transfigured as one of the methods for meditation. . My works of art create an intimate relationship with the viewer. Whether they are in the form of handmade books or wrapped sculptures, an interaction between the art works and the viewer always occurs in order to view the entire work of art. When the viewer turns the pages of handmade books, for instance, he/she would feel like they are listening to a secret story because he/she doesn't look at all the pages simultaneously but rather, sequentially. In order to view the wrapped sculptures, the viewer needs to untie the straps to open up the cover. The process of exhibiting these art works is related to the way people understand the world. Small segments are accumulated from the beginning, and eventually the whole picture of an intact form is accomplished in our minds, whether it is physically visible or imaginative. I, as an artist, also interact with my art works while creating them. I make the structure of my wrapped pieces, but the final form is the result of the relationship between the support, the cloth, and the path of threads. It is accomplished by natural forces due to the tension between the two or three materials. . The final form of an artwork is determined by gravity. This further reminds the viewer that although human beings are powerful on earth, they don't exist by themselves but exist within nature. |
