Gonkar Gyatso is a Tibetan-British artist who was born in 1961 in Lhasa, Tibet. Gyatso attained a B.F.A in Chinese Brush Painting at the Minzu University of China in Beijing. He also studied Thangka, which is traditional Tibetan scroll painting in Dharamsla. Gyatso moved to London during the 90’s with a scholarship to the Central St. Martins College in London. He attained his MA in Fine Art. [2] [3][1]
Interview with Gonkar Gyatso, January 23rd 2014 [4]
HK: What led you to work with imagery of Buddha?
GG: The shape is how I deliver my own vision of the harmonious coexistence of a lot of different things. For instance, when you look at the outline of one work it is [the form of] a reclining Buddha, but when you look inside there are 10 or 20,000 stickers in one piece. And these stickers come from different places, represent different meanings, and I try to put them all together—it’s kind of like Hong Kong, really. But they’re all living quite happily together, very harmoniously. It’s also related to the Buddhist idea of tolerance—you have to be open, you have to be kind, and tolerant of anything.
“With a long interest in material and pop culture, Gyatso often combines references to traditional Tibetan life with references to the global mass-media culture that is constantly interacting with, and shaping, our current perspectives of cultural identity. By confronting the undeniable bond between his homeland’s religion and politics Gyatso throws into question what is considered traditional, whilst addressing the many new cultural hybrid identities to which globalisation has given rise.” [5]
A lot of Gonkar Gyatso's works feature Buddha since Buddhism is very influential in traditional Tibetan lifestyle and right now, my main focus of culture is on my miniature Buddha statue. So I think this artist will be a good source for ideas and techniques. I admire the way he is able to blend two contrasting ideas into one harmonious piece with subtle or vivid references to religion, politics and pop-culture. His interest in the fusion of tradition and modernisation is often depicted in his work and also in how his work is presented. He uses mixed media collage frequently to represent his idea on the concept of pop-culture seeping into the traditional Tibetan life. His work can also represent the decay of traditional values as the influence of modern ideology increases and how tradition will soon be nothing more than f a d e d m e m o r i e s . . .
Shangri La, 2014
Mixed media collage on Aluminum backed honeycomb panel
76 x 76 cm (29 9/10 x 29 9/10 in.)
In this piece, the Tibetan mandala has been consumed by a flame with a group of people surrounding it with cameras and many other mobile technologies (planes, jets, helicopters, etc)This represents the religion been used as a commercial subject, the camera at the top right corner shows that the whole culture is been recorded for the purpose of educational entertainment/ documentary on religion.
Or this artwork could represent the Cultural Revolution when China tried to oppress the Buddhism influence. The black drawing like the helicopters and jets represent China trying to oppress the Buddhism, which is represented by the mandala. The flame could represent either the fall of Buddhism or the everlasting passion of the Buddhism which the oppressors could not put out.
Gonkar Gyatso, Untitled (silver base), 2012, mixed media collage, and pencil on resin sculpture,
(16 x 18 x 12in)
Image courtesy the artist and Pearl Lam Galleries.
Gyatso used one of Buddha’s famous pose, removed their head and applied logos and stickers on to the body. This could represent how the teachings or the identity of Buddhism is slowly lost in the modern world and especially with the new-born generations. The collage itself was not named to further hint the loss of culture in the artist’s perception.
Bibliography:
[1] Photo of Gonkar Gyatso - http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/arts/international/tibetan-artists-like-gonkar-gyatso-are-rising-to-the-fore-in-contemporary-art.html?_r=0
[2] Biography - http://www.gonkargyatso.co.uk/about-the-artist/artist's-bio
[3] Biography - http://hk-magazine.com/city-living/article/gonkar-gyatso
[4] Interview - http://hk-magazine.com/city-living/article/gonkar-gyatso
[5] Press Release - http://artradarjournal.com/2014/09/26/pop-phraseology-in-hong-kong-tibetan-artist-gonkar-gyatso-interview/
[6] Shangri La - http://www.pearllam.com/artist/gonkar-gyatso/
[7] Untitled work - http://artradarjournal.com/2014/09/26/pop-phraseology-in-hong-kong-tibetan-artist-gonkar-gyatso-interview/
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