American Buddha and Bird

Concept Note

The Buddha sits in the Nevada desert with a magical bird on an ancient rock. The desert speaks of life and death, of bleached bone and skeletal truth. The rock of geological time and the bird of animated life. The red, white, and blue symbolize history's current season. What would our world's largest empire learn from humanity's greatest stage?

ABOUT ARTIST

Canberra-based artist Gautam Jhanjee is in the field of sacred art. His calligraphic art collection draws inspiration from the rich cultures of the places he called home, India, Oman, the United Kingdom, and Australia. As well as his deeper Maharashtrian, Punjabi, and German heritage. With his paint in his flat overlooking stunning Lake Burley Griffin and the beautiful landscape beyond. His artworks are inspired by the spiritual and religious traditions of my Indo-European heritage. Focusing on Indian civilisation, they feature ancient symbols that have continued archetypal resonance, such as The Buddha, the chakra, the sun, the bull, and the lotus flower. He also draws from sources in the western tradition, from Greek mythology to to Dante’s Commedia To William Blake’s poetic masterpieces. He aims to give pre-modern material renewed life in a technological and often desacralised age.