I am now making plans for the trip back to beijing in October th co- curate the exhibition Process/ Journeys. The following is the concept for the exhibition.
Process/Journey-
a China/Australia exchange exhibition
Process/ Journey is an exhibition co-curated by Tony Scott and Paula Payne. It will bring together artists from Australia and China to exhibit works that reflect upon the journeys that inspire them and to develop an understanding of the reasons why artists form enduring relations between cultures. The exhibition Process/Journey acknowledges the 35th year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and China, and acts as a celebration of the ongoing presence of the Australian Embassy in Beijing.
Brian Wallace, Director of Redgate Galleries has offered the Watchtower Gallery, a 500 year old Ming Dynasty building, as the venue for the launch of the exhibition in Beijing on October 27th 2007. The Australian Embassy will help coordinate the exhibition in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, the exhibition will travel to Australia in 2008.
The artists who have been invited to participate in this project are: Li Gang, Guan Wei, Laurens Tan, Tony Scott, Lindy Lee, Jayne Dyer, Farrell & Parkin.
These artists have chosen to explore the connections as well as the apparent disparities between Australia and China. Throughout their journeys the artists act as channels of communication, who choose to extend their experiences beyond the comfort zones of there original homes to connect to the complexities and intricacies of other people and places. However the exhibition also raises questions as to why and how they maintain such a challenging process.
Questions the exhibition will address include:
How does an artist establish enduring connections between two seemingly disparate cultures?
Why does an artist continue to establish these links?
What are the artistic and personal challenges in establishing these links?
What changes in an artist’s practice when he/she lives and travels between two cultures?
What does it mean to be both an 'insider and an outsider' in these cultures?
The curiosity that drives this experience highlights a need to expand towards a deeper understanding of cultural and personal practice. It also raises questions about how contemporary artists are best able to communicate in a broader human context by using a language that extends beyond the boundaries of a national and individual identity.
This project initiates a series of exhibitions, events, and cultural exchanges that will instigate an ongoing series of journeys. It is an initiative that will be fuelled by interaction and cooperation, forming new audiences for contemporary art practice between China and Australia.
Process/Journey aims to celebrate Australia’s ongoing cultural interaction with China, and to establish new relationships and dialogues between artists, institutions and cultures.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
After spending a month or so back in Brisbane I put together a small body of works that I had produced in Beijing. I think the quality of the prints are not to an optimum standard, however the concept was the most important factor in the development of these works and I shall continue to follow this line of action.
This is the short statement that was supplied at the Griffith University Tribune st Gallery
August 2007.
New works by Paula Payne August 2007
Panorama; reflections through the looking glass
During my recent travels in April, May and June of 2007 through China, Taiwan, and Tibet, I photographed ancient trees from a variety of species. The trees were obviously regarded with great value and were cared for in sacred locations such as the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, which is well known for its ancient oaks and an elaborate, opulent, Buddhist retreat in the centre of Taiwan called Chung Tai Chan Monastery. The monastery has been built recently on the donations of the wealthy upper/middle classes who are devout Buddhists like so many in Taiwan today.
I was struck by the way in which the botanical specimens were cared for and presented. The trees, like silent sentinels more ancient than you or I are positioned in places of worship, like beautiful women objects of the gaze. They are presented in enclosed areas protected by fences and surrounded by soft grasses; such gardens could allude to Eden’s from our own biblical history. However if one were to associate man made environments such as these with the emotional disposition of the cultures of which they are a part, these green sanctuaries could easily represent landscapes of sobriety, and reinforce notions of what it is to be of value in a world of order.
In many cultures beautiful gardens are used to allude to the influences and the values held in esteem by that culture. The trees, which some how manage to take on anthropomorphic dimensions, become not only testaments to time and longevity, but also act as living examples of species lovingly cared for by their keepers.
During these encounters I find myself worshipping the magnificence of long standing trees, and I reflected upon the order of things and the relationship between humans and their environments.
Back in Australia I have always maintained a fascination for the untameable littoral zones of our foreshores, with their tidal mud’s, insects, strange mutating trees and floating seeds. Of course I am referring to the mangal swamps of our tropical and subtropical coastlines, estuaries and swamps where evergreen trees and shrubs thrive in the tidal mud and sand inundated with daily waters.
The saturated mud flat of the typical mangrove swamp is a hostile environment for most typical plants and certainly would not host the glorious specimens mentioned above. The soil has low levels of oxygen for the roots and high levels of sulphides. Mangrove trees appear to have special mechanisms to permit them to take up water from the saline muddy soil without making their water conduits salty. The emotional disposition that I invest these landscapes with is one of pragmatism, and relates to a drive toward survival. The mangal species perfects the act of establishing new colonies that creep from the seaward zone to the landward zone making a gradual transition toward the terrestrial forests, adapting, surviving and prospering in unusual circumstance.
With this body of work I have contemplated the differences that exist between cultures and their landscapes, man made or otherwise. I acknowledge the aesthetics of a manicured beauty, tranquillity, sobriety, and applaud the resilience and adaptability of these very different species of trees. I also celebrate the contrasts and differences between the cultures of which I associate them.
I am now about to go on a journey to Lhasa in Tibet on the train.
Here are my journal entries for that trip followed by a few favorite pictures.
A Tibetan Tale
A lifelong dream of mine has been to travel the highlands of Tibet and view the extraordinary landscapes and rugged lifestyles of the peoples there.
As with many aspects of Tibet's culture, the answer lies in her religious life. For Tibet's original Buddhist temple, dating from the seventh century, was Lhasa's Jokhang Temple , still found today pulsating at the heart of the Old Quarter. This institution, contemporaneous with the first Potala Palace , heralds Buddhism's first insemination and dissemination in a flourishing Tibetan empire stretching from western China to Nepal, Bhutan and northern India. Though its political fortunes would wax and wane, Lhasa - "the place of the Gods" - would forever thus be associated with the birth of Tibetan Buddhism . It is this birthright that would maintain Lhasa's prominence through subsequent centuries of bitter regional and religious conflict.
Lhasa and its surrounding area has long been viewed as a Shangri-La of sorts with its grassy plateau and tribal peoples who have lived off the land for centuries. However there has been trouble in Shangri-La and when the Han Chinese invaded five decades ago the Dali Lama fled his own sanctuary and left for India never to return to his home. The people of Lhasa emphasise the importance of upholding the Buddhist religious texts, as they are proud of their heritage of monasteries, monks and Buddhism. For many years Lhasa was closed to foreigners but in the last decade has become more accessible and in 2006 the Qinghai- Tibet railway was opened on July 1st and many people have been flocking to experience the mystical and mythical lands of Tibet ever since.
The T27 train from Beijing West Railway station leaves twice a week at 9.30 pm in the evening, and takes two full days and nights to reach its destination, Lhasa. In fact the train arrives at the Lhasa train station between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on day two. Confirming a booking on the train is not quite what we westerners are used to as you can only make a concrete booking ten days in advance of the trains departure and this needs to be procured through a booking agent of sorts whether from Australia or Beijing in China or by going to the station and buying a ticket once they are released.
In my case, I made inquires before leaving Australia and it seemed that it was out of the question to book from a Brisbane travel agent, and although there was information to be found on line there was no actual way of confirming a booking that I could directly access. My stay in Beijing was once again linked to the famous Redgate Gallery at the Dongbianmen Watchtower working on an Australian China exchange project with Tony Scott, special projects manager. Brian Wallace the gallery director
was kind enough to make the booking for me through his travel agent.
We made a booking for three people, my friend Pat Hoffie, her ten year old daughter Visaya and myself in a soft sleeper for the 1st of May which cost 1200 Yuan per head which equals around $200 Australian dollars one way. The tickets are released ten days before the departure date, however I did not receive the tickets until two days before the train’s departure and we were bumped to a hard sleeper which cost $780 Yuan per head, that equals around $140 Australian dollars, and the permit required arrived the day before we left. We booked to fly out of Lhasa on China Air 4111 on the 6th of May which leaves the Lhasa airport at 4.05pm every day and costs 2400Yuan per head, around $400 Australian.
The permit is another story and you can receive all sorts of information with regards whether you need one or not, I suggest you get one as the hotel or hostel will ask for passports and permits on arrival. The only way to procure a permit is to pay to go on an organised tour or hire a tour guide. Our tour guide was a young Tibetan man of about 32 called Jimmy from the Tibet Science International Travel Service, Jimmy can be reached on 0891-6372165, 13989914933. In the first two days of our stay in Lhasa with the help of Jimmy we will be visiting; The Tibetan Museum, Nobulinka, Sera Monastery, Potala Palace, Jokang Temple & Barkor Bazaar.
As often is the way in life there is slippage between events and peoples and during April/May 2007 the Redgate Gallery at 789 Da shanzi was working on the opening of an exhibition of contemporary Tibetan art called Lhasa- New art from Tibet, which opened on May 26. I not only had the good fortune to be present at this time but to be involved with the artists and curators of the exhibition Tony Scott and Leigh Langster a fullbright schoolar from USA. Leigh and her husband Jason had been living in Lhasa for over one year and had both collaborated with the artists and development of the exhibition. This is the first time that Contemporary art from Lhasa has been exhibited in Beijing, a historical moment.
Six of the Tibetan artists from the Gedun Choephel Guild Lhasa stayed in a studio supplied by Redgate at Bagaou art district, and a number of well known Tibetan art historians, including Claire Harris from Oxford University, dealers, Fabio Rossi from London, buyers and consultants gathered in Beijing for the opening of the exhibition and then the train trip to Lhasa. Quite an entourage complete with a high profile guest list and contemporary artists from Tibet and Australia, a moment in time that may not be repeated in a hurry.
Brian Wallace, mine host offered the Watchtower as a departure point for the Lhasa trip and a bus to the Beijing West Train Station was organised for the group. Champagne was supplied by a number of people who attended the opening and continued on the journey. The fabulous Fabio Rossi from Rossi and Rossi in London had organised a merry band of friends and relatives to go on the trip, which was also a celebration of the birthday of his 75-year-old mother who has been to Lhasa twenty times buying antiques for the Rossi & Rossi gallery in Cork st. A merry band of choice travellers descended upon the Beijing West Railway Station.
The Beijing West Railway Station, as always was crowded and confusing with a line of people shoving their way in one small entry point and belongings being scanned and searched on entry. We hovered as a group under the big neon’s and directional signage with a long list of destinations rotating on the board. The T27 is called for boarding and the crush begins as hundreds of people take a stand in the ques for the train.
Pat Visaya and I find our carriage which is number 16 to discover that not only have we been separated but I am on the top bunk in a carriage of six, five of which are Chinese men and Pat and Visaya are on the two top bunks with a Chinese family. shock, horror. However as luck or intelligence would have it Clair Harris, Sue Bond and an Italian Fine Art dealer named Maria have a cabin for six booked as they also were bumped from first class and out of the kindness of their hearts take pity on us and offer to share their space. When they found out they were no longer on soft sleepers they booked two seats each in hard sleepers, a tip worth remembering.
The train is packed with Han Chinese, Tibetans, the Tibetan art market trail blazers, ourselves and a local journalist and photographer from Beijing who are writing a travel story for an Australian travel Magazine. It is 10.30 pm by the time we have all stashed our cases under the seats and have crawled into our bunks. Pat Visaya and myself are very quiet as we are very grateful for the assistance of the women in the cabin and do not want to be a nuisance in any way. I find it hard to settle as we rock through the night and have to creep to the toilet and find water. The toilets are already
hygienically challenged and I suspect that the worst is yet to come.
When we awake the landscape is dusty little valleys and peaks encasing small country villages that cultivate the patchworks of small crops that sustain them. On the train people chatter away as they fill their noodles with hot water from the urn, Visaya and I sit in the hallway as we watch another world pass by. Wayne Quarendon, an art dealer from London and I go for coffee in the dinning car, which is spacious and simple with a red plastic rose per table and a cloth under glass. The girls serving are abrupt and to the point and make it quite clear they put up with no nonsense. It is a break from the cabin and the view from the windows is worth gazing at. On the way back to the cabin we pass through the sitting carriages, three of them and I feel for the poor buggers, some with their children who have a long two days ahead of them. Oh to be an elite white foreigner coming from a privileged position.
On return to the cabin Clair and Pat (the two academics) are engaged in deep conversations about modernisms, contemporary art in minority cultures, and ways in which to re think the existing frameworks. I crawl back into my bunk on the second level and doze as I catch up on some sleep. The train stops at Xian at about 10.30 am
on day one and we stretch our legs on the station as more people get on and a few disembark the train.
Pat, Visaya and myself head for the dinning car and continue conversations with people we have met. The food is simple fare, rice, vegetable dishes, pork, some chicken. The arid view continues although the mountains are becoming more pronounced as scantily clad peasants work the land. Visaya spots some donkeys and then a huge industrial plant invades the skyline. We head back to the cabin to read and rest some more, I catch up on lost sleep from the last six weeks of travelling and partying. (I have to confess) It seem that Visaya has cabin fever, she is literally starting to swing from the rafters.
We have dinner with Sue the English art consultant and Maria who specialises in traditional Italian arts, who are lovely ladies and watch as the scenery shifts to a more subtle dusk outlook with higher mountain surrounds. Dusty looking men and women work on rebuilding the edges of the railway shifting big rocks, moving earth and re painting colourful slogans on the walls and edges of the railway line. We see glimpses of lakes and running waters that tumble down from the mountains and assist in the maintenance of the vibrant greens of the soft grasses on the plains. Another day of conversations, naps and moving pictures has passed and we head back to car number 16 for bed.
The toilets are becoming even more like chambers of the antichrist and we all hold our bladders for as long as possible between visits. Pat is on a mission and keeps hitting the emergency button in the toilet in the hope someone will come and clean, she has also been swishing all left over noodles and hot water into the bowl in an attempt to move on the foul deposits that decorate the edges of the squat.
Night two: I wake in the night to see the full moon over the plains, we have risen to the Tibetan plateau and are travelling the permafrost, the mountainous ranges all around are quite astounding. There are snow-capped peaks casting long shadows and glistening pools of frozen ice on the ground. One could describe the landscape as cool, haunting and in a sense mystical, I keep expecting to see wolves. Listening to the quite in the cabin I breathe in a moments serenity and give thanks. I awake in the morning to the hissing of the oxygen valve that has activated over my head. There are several in and around the cabin hissing away and they continue to do so for the remainder of the journey so as to assist in the demise of altitude sickness among its passengers.
Pat and Maria awake with headaches and feel that they are showing some signs of altitude sickness. We pass a small desolate outpost as a few tankers drive past the train and a procession of Chinese army vehicles pass in the opposite direction. Once again we head for the dinning car, the sitters look more dishevelled and some are sleeping on the floor in front of their seats propping themselves up with various bags and pillows, the smell of noodles and tinned fish permeates the cabins as we try not to be to obtrusive as we pass through. We have named these three cabins Guantanimo.
The girls in the dinning car have breakfasts of white bread, jam, a very oily fried egg and a pot of Luke warm weak Nescafe ready to go. The landscape is reliably awesome with photo opportunity after photo opportunity. We view wild yaks, Tibetan horses, small antelopes, sheep and foxes roaming the plains quite oblivious to the train and travellers on board. We are now around 4,700mtrs in height and travelling on the extraordinary Tibetan plateau, which leads to our destination Lhasa.
People stop talking and start watching, we are remiss to sleep in case we miss something. We take in glimpses of the Tibetan peoples compounds isolated in these dramatic landscapes with their ponies, yaks, brightly coloured clothing and children. They go about their daily tasks under vast blue grey skies, working the plains which flicker to and from the shadows of dramatic mountains. We pass by an enormous blue lake which seems to go on forever. It has been a day for contemplation and viewing and as the afternoon draws to a close there is a sense of excitement as we realise we are two hours from Lhasa and people pack and chatter.
A track from Buddah Bar plays loudly over the speaker as we wind our way through more populated villages on the outskirts of Lhasa as people on the train sing and are joyous. We pull into the Lhasa station one hour before schedule at 8pm. Pat Visaya and I say our goodbyes to the group as we head for a taxi and then to our hotel, The Tibetan, which Pat booked from Australia, supposedly near to the Potala Palce but not so? As usual the taxi is a challenge as the driver speaks no English and probably cannot read. We do not have the hotel name written in Tibetan in any case and I have a brainwave, we find the hotel number make the call and get someone at the hotel to speak to the driver.
The Tibetan is a four star number, large and quite luxurious from the looks of things although it seems to be quite empty. The reception staff are frosty to say the least and insist on passports and permits before showing us to our room which is large, and has lots of mood lighting looking out onto a garden area with a large tree. The beds have clean white dooners and we are happy. We all take pleasure in toiletries before heading out to explore the area and find some dinner. I look on the map and we are not within a quick walk to the centre of town and the Potala.
We seem to be in a bar area, there are lots of cafes, a laundry, bakery, hairdresser, etc. I spot a Tibetan herbal pharmacy and have a chat with the pharmacist via gesticulation and body language about altitude sickness and what we should be doing. He sells me some herbs called Gaoyuankang capsules which have been developed in Tibet for the purpose of alleviating altitude sickness with the instruction that we should take two a day for four days. Pat is a little worried what they are but I get stuck into them and they seem to work well and soon she follows suite.
Visaya and I still have bouts of breathlessness and palpitations and Pat has a glimpse of the odd headache but for the most part we are fine and powering. We find a simple café to eat in, point at some green vegetables, rice and eggs with tomatoes and enjoy some local peasant food at a very cheap price. We return to the Tibetan to discover the showers are luke warm and the beds are comfy and have a big sleep.
I phone our tour guide in the morning and Jimmy meets us at the hotel at 10am ready to show us around. Jimmy is around 32, single speaks three languages Tibetan, Chinese, Indian and is also learning French. He has suffered from polio as a child and attended a language school in India from the age of 11. He is a sweet and patient man and has an enormous amount of knowledge about the major religious sites and is very willing to share. Our first stop is the Nobulinka which is the palace/museum and last home of the Dali Lama before he was exiled. The temperature is around 10degrees in the morning to about 24degrees and sunny during the day.
Construction began in the 1740s. The area used to be wasteland with wild animals, weeds and scrub which the Seventh Dalai Lama liked and often visited, and, as a result, the Qing magistrate had a palace built. Years later, Kelsang Potrang was built by order of the Seventh Dalai Lama. Later it was used as the Summer Palace for successive Lamas, where they solved the political problems and held festive celebrations. After a series of expansions and renovations, the appearance was improved with potrangs, pavilions, gardens and woods. It has now been turned into a park open to the public.
The Norbulinka has beautiful gardens complete with clover and white bunnies, old cypress trees and fountains. When you enter the museum you feel the presence of sacred space and are able to view ancient painted texts on the walls that start with the first stories of the Monkey Buddah and how Buddism came from India to Tibet. Images notate stories about Lhasa and speak of the transition through the ages until the present day and the current Dali Lama. We read in the Lonely Planet Guide that he will not reincarnate again into this world. (sad, and maybe/hopefully untrue) All of the stories are told through visual images that are expressive figurative works with Hindu features speaking of incarnations and interactions through time and space.
The rooms, of which there are over 300 are human in their proportions and seem to have an air of somebody’s home although by Tibetan standards I’m sure it’s quite an elaborate Palace. We spend some time wandering the garden and then Jimmy takes us to a guesthouse for some traditional Tibetan fare, which is rice, yak meat and chilli, and some jasmine tea. We catch cabs everywhere and a standard fare in Lhasa is 10 Yuan as there are no meters.
Our plan for the afternoon is the Sera Monastery, which is situated close by in the mountains, however first we have to go and que for tickets to the Potala Palace for the following day where we stand in line just before 12 pm when the booking office opens. They want booking numbers and passports from everyone and we will que again at the foot of the Potala Palace tomorrow at 10am (no later) we are told, show our passports again and pay 100 Yuan on entry.
The taxi fare to Sera Monastery is 20 Yuan as it is outside the CBD entry fee 100 Yuan. The approach is impressive as the buildings nestle into the side of some serious mountains, which appear to be like gigantic rock piles that project into the sky. Monks who were once numbered in the thousands are now around 400 in number are known for their study and debating of the scriptures and their martial arts skills. We arrive in afternoon it and in the central courtyard the monks are having a debate which will last for the rest of day followed by a gathering in the assembly hall with some serious prayer and chanting to follow.
The three Gelug monasteries of Sera, Drepung and Ganden were known collectively as the "Pillars of the State". As such there was naturally political rivalry between them. This can even be seen in the naming of this monastery. Sera, meaning "merciful hail" is a challenge to Drepung monastery, whose name means "rice heap" in the sense that hail damages rice. This rebellious monastery, some of whose monks were famed for their soldiery last challenged power in 1947. In the course of this failed coup, they even made an attempt on the then Regent's life. Founded in 1419, at its height, Sera monastery was residence to more than 5,000 monks and five monastic colleges. Although much less active now, with only several hundred monks currently in residence, one of the most interesting times to visit the monastery is in the afternoon when monks, after finishing their morning scripture classes, can be seen debating in the courtyard.
The debate is a spectacle like no other that I have seen with 400men and boys as some of the monks enter the monastic life as young as 8 years old take positions of teacher and student in the courtyard debating over the scriptures in a most verbal and physical way. There is rocking and stomping and slapping of hands hard at one another in determined gestures that would suggest that they really know what they are on about.
The monks are wearing rich red maroon robes with red saches barefoot with the shaved or recently shaved heads.
A few spectators including ourselves were present and we watched in awe at the strange and intense behaviour, the expressions on the monks’ faces and the determination of the gestures. It was a beautiful afternoon, and the walled courtyard filtered dappled sunlight through the tall, soft conifers. I find myself trying to catch studies of the faces with my camera whilst soaking up the warmth and the moment.
Pat Visaya and I go for a walk around the monks quarters and then Jimmy takes us into the temple and explained the deity’s, Buddahs and tombs, of which there are so very many. Many Tibetans are adding to the big butter burners and presenting silk scarves and money to the various Buddahs. A long line of women move through the temple site with their small children and babies who have painted black koala noses. Very curious I thought, on inquiry Jimmy explained that there was a particular Buddah here that mothers presented there sleepless babies to. We watched as the mothers and grandmothers put the babies heads into a hole in the wall where you could view the specific deity and the monks gave blessings to the babes.
Hopefully through acts of faith and blessings Tibetan children will sleep at nights.
On leaving the temple we see many monks from the debate scurrying madly to the assembly hall ready for the wind down of the days debating. Apparently (according to Jimmy) it was unusual that we were permitted to sit in on such an occasion so we sat quietly at the back of the hall whilst some monks in white did quite a lot of talking and chanting started the procedures. Once again according to the Lonely Planet Guide, in 1988 the monks tried to protest against the Chinese invasion 30 monks circled the monastery chanting and holding signs of protest, four days later they were beaten and arrested, 2000 angry Tibetans gathered to protest 150 were wounded and 18 died in the fight that ensued
at this historic site. (horrific)
As we were leaving the monastery I made the mistake of offering a group of mothers and children some money to take their photos and was mobbed by about ten little urchins who followed me and harassed me all the way down the hill. I gave them
10 Yuan and on leaving saw them buying little mirrors and trinkets from the various market stalls. We head back to town, have an awful meal in a café bar near the hotel, it rains heavily on the way home and we return to the hotel to a blackout and no electricity, we manage to acquire one candle from the reception desk and head for bed without even attempting to do battle with the luke warm shower.
The following morning we make our way with Jimmy to the Potala Palace which has a monumental presence over Lhasa and sits watching us all.
Perched upon Marpo Ri hill, 130 meters above the Lhasa valley, the Potala Palace rises a further 170 meters and is the greatest monumental structure in all of Tibet. Early legends concerning the rocky hill tell of a sacred cave, considered to be the dwelling place of the Bodhisattva Chenresi (Avilokiteshvara), that was used as a meditation retreat by Emperor Songtsen Gampo in the seventh century AD. In 637 Songtsen Gampo built a palace on the hill. This structure stood until the seventeenth century, when it was incorporated into the foundations of the greater buildings still standing today. Construction of the present palace began in 1645 during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama and by 1648 the Potrang Karpo, or White Palace, was completed. The Potrang Marpo, or Red Palace, was added between 1690 and 1694; its construction required the labors of more than 7000 workers and 1500 artists and craftsman. In 1922 the 13th Dalai Lama renovated many chapels and assembly halls in the White Palace and added two stories to the Red Palace. The Potala Palace was only slightly damaged during the Tibetan uprising against the invading Chinese in 1959. Unlike most other Tibetan religious structures, it was not sacked by the Red Guards during the 1960s and 1970s, apparently through the personal intervention of Chou En Lai. As a result, all the chapels and their artifacts are very well preserved.
We taxi past the two large golden yaks that stand tall on the major roundabout into town and pass a number of elegant white stupas on the way to and out of the front of the Potala Palace. Once again we que to show passports and stand in line until we get the okay to pay our 100 Yuan entry fee. It has snowed during the night on the surrounding mountains and is very cool, about 6 degrees but also very beautiful. I am breathless as I walk the sacred way winding toward the Potala which is quite a climb and all of us on the path stop at differing times to admire the view and catch our breath. Many Tibetans with their dark skin, decorated hair, flowing robes and prayer wheels are heading toward their holy place. It is a magnificent morning with many moving sights to behold.
On entry to the initial courtyard we are meet by the chants of a group of around 200 men and women working in a traditional way to resurface the yard. This process is called Breaknarka, translated as breaking ground. There are four or five lines of people stomping and pounding the earth with flat bundles on sticks and their boots and others are hosing and adding lime and concrete to the surface. They chant as they work and there is a particular order to their movements. Two rows move forward at the same time then the third then the fourth then they all stomp back across the surface together. The chanting is melodic and different lines have different chants, they will work all day in this way to resurface the courtyard a harmonious group of peoples working together to retain their culture and maintain their sacred space.
The Potala is as to be expected huge, full of treasures, shrines, alters, Buddahs, manuscripts, views and patinas from various generations, of maintenance or not.
Another 7th century building that has had various lives and stories etched into its being. We spent at least three hours inside wandering from room to room-reading didactic panels and breathing in the yak butter and frankincense which is contained in large golden urns that take a central positions in all of the passageways and rooms that contain scriptures and gods. Many Tibetans, Han Chinese and a few foreign tourists stand in lines, say prayers and contribute to the big butter burners.
After our decent Jimmy escorts us to the Puntsok Khasang International Youth Hostel 0086 891 6915222 8000 for a look and Pat books a dorm for three for an additional 5 nights which is spacious has its own bathroom and a view from the 4th floor for 120 Yuan a night around $25 Australian per night. After eating lunch in a local café called the Lhasa Café (which is excellent) overlooking the Barkor Bazaar that is a hub of stalls selling prayer flags, cloth, traditional clothing, beads, horse riding apparatus, paintings, incenses and various other treasures we head to the Jokhang Temple also from the 7th century which stands in the centre of the Barkor Bazaar square.
Tibetans gather here for the markets to sell their wares as they have for centuries, however this is a major religious site and many Tibetans walk the square with their prayer wheels and beads. Some prostate themselves around the whole square particularly in the morning, some prostate repeatedly in the entry of the temple which every Tibetan is supposed to visit at least once before they die. The ancient Johkag Temple is the end route of a pilgrimage that all devout Tibetan Buddhists must visit in their lifetime an extremely holy place.
The Jokhang, or "House of the Lord," is the holiest site in Tibet and is the ultimate pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Buddhists. King Songtsen Gampo first built a temple here in the mid-7th century, but the structure that we see today is largely the result of reconstruction in the 17th century, commissioned by the Fifth Dalai Lama. The Jokhang houses the Jowo Buddha, a Buddhist sculpture brought as part of the dowry of the Chinese Princess Wencheng upon her arrival in Tibet. It is said that upon her husband, King Songtsen Gampo's death, the princess hid the sculpture in the temple. The miraculous survival of this ancient Buddhist sculpture makes it today one of Tibet's most revered images.
The front of the Jokhang Temple is graced with two gigantic incense burners which people are literally shovelling herbs into that billow scented smoke and flames about three meters into the atmosphere. No wonder they are situated outside the temple as they are a real fire hazard. The Temple was said to have been built upon a lake and houses very expressive Buddha’s from the Indian lineage. There are scriptures that are relevant to each one and the carving and paintings inside the building are well preserved and beautiful. The old stone floor has a very worn patina and is quite shinny and smooth due to the centuries of usage. You can access the rooftop which houses a number of beautiful golden stupas which can be seen from all over town, from the rooftop you also get a magnificent view of Lhasa, the Potala Palace and the Barkor Bazaar below.
On leaving the Temple we wander the Bazaar in search of the Gedun Choephel artists guild where the Tibetan artists we know are operating from and we find it quite easily. As luck would have it as we entered so did a number of people from the train journey and many of the artists that had exhibited in Beijing as well as Liegh Sangster, Clair Harris, Gonkar Gyatso, Wayne Quarendon and Fabio Rossi.
It would appear that we have stumbled into the Lhasa de brief from the Beijing exhibition New Art From Tibet currently still installed at 798 Redgate gallery and it goes like this. All of the artists from the exhibition and others who belong to the guild that I have not meet including the one female member are present. Fabio opens the discussion by stating that the exhibition is yet another historical moment for Tibetan Contemporary Art and extends a special thanks to Clair Harris and Gonkar Gyatso for their work with the artists and the guild. Fabio speaks about the way in which Gonker has snowballed internationally and has been well received critically & commercially with an emphasis on the fact that 70% of Gonkars’ works have sold.
He states that commercial interest is growing fast as well as the quality of the art and that there is potential to have a bigger and better art space as well as 4 to 5 solo exhibitions coming out of Lhasa in the near future, plus another group exhibition at Redgate scheduled in one year. Clair Harris then speaks and asks some very difficult academic questions which are addressed to the artists and I am sure most of them do not get what she is talking about, whether to position oneself as a post-modern or modernist artist and what the outcomes might be etc.
At this point Neandak and Keltse respond by stating that they do not want to get into a situation wherein they are obliged to follow certain trends, and that although the work may sell well it may become a recognisable style as they have observed in the Chinese contemporary art scene. They concluded that they are concerned with expressing ideas and concerns about their own journeys and developing a contemporary identity that still expresses notions of selfhood in the ever-changing world of Tibet. They insist they do not want to follow but to keep their own minds and develop the group/ guild.
Pat then address some questions to the artists about the guild and mentions her personal experiences with the Bagio Guild, she then goes on to highlight the San Paolo Biennale 2006 noting that some of the strongest works there were from a local guild of artists such as themselves. The artists had managed to circumnavigated the dealers and trends in order to speak their truth and promote their own careers, which of course is contrary to Fabio’s notion of how a dealer promotes an artist through a subversive edge that has control over which works are promoted where etc. Fabio started to get a little hot under the collar and put forth the discussion that contemporary art would stand in the market regardless of whence it came.
I then addressed a question to Gonkar about a work of his called La International which was in the above mentioned exhibition, and how although that work clearly spoke of his success in the international contemporary art market it also acted as a strong voice that spoke from a position of being a Tibetan who has lived through a time when his national identity and future has been challenged. During his formative years la International was a song the Chinese taught the children in school so that they would learn the Chinese language. It was also used to question their allegiance to Tibet by promoting Chinese rule. I concluded that the message was a strong one and clearly could only have transpired through his early experiences which were specific to being a Tibetan in a certain place at a certain time. Gonkar agreed and Fabio started to discuss the position of Contemporary arts once again.
At this point Visaya and Pat have really had enough and I say my goodbyes and leave. Pat Visaya and I go to a typically Tibetan restaurant with great food and lots of music, drinking and hilarity we share a joyous meal together and have a giggle about our day. We go back to the hotel pack and sign out, we go and book into the hostel and the three of us go for a wander through the Barkor Bazaar before I have to catch a taxi to the airport and head back to Beijing as I am leaving for Australia tomorrow.
It takes a while to get a taxi and we negotiate the price at $130 Yuan the drive takes close to one and a half hours through mountainous country, over rivers through tunnels we wind past army trucks, police vehicles, busses and peasants with their carts and crops. The roads are quite busy and the view is interesting. I feel a sadness at leaving so soon I would like to come back and soak up more of Tibet and spend some more time with the artists from the guild. I will have to start working on it for some future project or possibility.
The flight takes five hours as we stop at Guanzhou to pick up more passengers. On my arrival to Beijing I get a call from Kelly Gellatly who is also leaving tomorrow and stop for drinks with Brian, Tony , Kelly and a couple of others. Brian helps me out when I have difficulties accessing the apartment and my luggage and we have departing beers together late into the night.
Until Next Time
Here are my journal entries for that trip followed by a few favorite pictures.
A Tibetan Tale
A lifelong dream of mine has been to travel the highlands of Tibet and view the extraordinary landscapes and rugged lifestyles of the peoples there.
As with many aspects of Tibet's culture, the answer lies in her religious life. For Tibet's original Buddhist temple, dating from the seventh century, was Lhasa's Jokhang Temple , still found today pulsating at the heart of the Old Quarter. This institution, contemporaneous with the first Potala Palace , heralds Buddhism's first insemination and dissemination in a flourishing Tibetan empire stretching from western China to Nepal, Bhutan and northern India. Though its political fortunes would wax and wane, Lhasa - "the place of the Gods" - would forever thus be associated with the birth of Tibetan Buddhism . It is this birthright that would maintain Lhasa's prominence through subsequent centuries of bitter regional and religious conflict.
Lhasa and its surrounding area has long been viewed as a Shangri-La of sorts with its grassy plateau and tribal peoples who have lived off the land for centuries. However there has been trouble in Shangri-La and when the Han Chinese invaded five decades ago the Dali Lama fled his own sanctuary and left for India never to return to his home. The people of Lhasa emphasise the importance of upholding the Buddhist religious texts, as they are proud of their heritage of monasteries, monks and Buddhism. For many years Lhasa was closed to foreigners but in the last decade has become more accessible and in 2006 the Qinghai- Tibet railway was opened on July 1st and many people have been flocking to experience the mystical and mythical lands of Tibet ever since.
The T27 train from Beijing West Railway station leaves twice a week at 9.30 pm in the evening, and takes two full days and nights to reach its destination, Lhasa. In fact the train arrives at the Lhasa train station between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on day two. Confirming a booking on the train is not quite what we westerners are used to as you can only make a concrete booking ten days in advance of the trains departure and this needs to be procured through a booking agent of sorts whether from Australia or Beijing in China or by going to the station and buying a ticket once they are released.
In my case, I made inquires before leaving Australia and it seemed that it was out of the question to book from a Brisbane travel agent, and although there was information to be found on line there was no actual way of confirming a booking that I could directly access. My stay in Beijing was once again linked to the famous Redgate Gallery at the Dongbianmen Watchtower working on an Australian China exchange project with Tony Scott, special projects manager. Brian Wallace the gallery director
was kind enough to make the booking for me through his travel agent.
We made a booking for three people, my friend Pat Hoffie, her ten year old daughter Visaya and myself in a soft sleeper for the 1st of May which cost 1200 Yuan per head which equals around $200 Australian dollars one way. The tickets are released ten days before the departure date, however I did not receive the tickets until two days before the train’s departure and we were bumped to a hard sleeper which cost $780 Yuan per head, that equals around $140 Australian dollars, and the permit required arrived the day before we left. We booked to fly out of Lhasa on China Air 4111 on the 6th of May which leaves the Lhasa airport at 4.05pm every day and costs 2400Yuan per head, around $400 Australian.
The permit is another story and you can receive all sorts of information with regards whether you need one or not, I suggest you get one as the hotel or hostel will ask for passports and permits on arrival. The only way to procure a permit is to pay to go on an organised tour or hire a tour guide. Our tour guide was a young Tibetan man of about 32 called Jimmy from the Tibet Science International Travel Service, Jimmy can be reached on 0891-6372165, 13989914933. In the first two days of our stay in Lhasa with the help of Jimmy we will be visiting; The Tibetan Museum, Nobulinka, Sera Monastery, Potala Palace, Jokang Temple & Barkor Bazaar.
As often is the way in life there is slippage between events and peoples and during April/May 2007 the Redgate Gallery at 789 Da shanzi was working on the opening of an exhibition of contemporary Tibetan art called Lhasa- New art from Tibet, which opened on May 26. I not only had the good fortune to be present at this time but to be involved with the artists and curators of the exhibition Tony Scott and Leigh Langster a fullbright schoolar from USA. Leigh and her husband Jason had been living in Lhasa for over one year and had both collaborated with the artists and development of the exhibition. This is the first time that Contemporary art from Lhasa has been exhibited in Beijing, a historical moment.
Six of the Tibetan artists from the Gedun Choephel Guild Lhasa stayed in a studio supplied by Redgate at Bagaou art district, and a number of well known Tibetan art historians, including Claire Harris from Oxford University, dealers, Fabio Rossi from London, buyers and consultants gathered in Beijing for the opening of the exhibition and then the train trip to Lhasa. Quite an entourage complete with a high profile guest list and contemporary artists from Tibet and Australia, a moment in time that may not be repeated in a hurry.
Brian Wallace, mine host offered the Watchtower as a departure point for the Lhasa trip and a bus to the Beijing West Train Station was organised for the group. Champagne was supplied by a number of people who attended the opening and continued on the journey. The fabulous Fabio Rossi from Rossi and Rossi in London had organised a merry band of friends and relatives to go on the trip, which was also a celebration of the birthday of his 75-year-old mother who has been to Lhasa twenty times buying antiques for the Rossi & Rossi gallery in Cork st. A merry band of choice travellers descended upon the Beijing West Railway Station.
The Beijing West Railway Station, as always was crowded and confusing with a line of people shoving their way in one small entry point and belongings being scanned and searched on entry. We hovered as a group under the big neon’s and directional signage with a long list of destinations rotating on the board. The T27 is called for boarding and the crush begins as hundreds of people take a stand in the ques for the train.
Pat Visaya and I find our carriage which is number 16 to discover that not only have we been separated but I am on the top bunk in a carriage of six, five of which are Chinese men and Pat and Visaya are on the two top bunks with a Chinese family. shock, horror. However as luck or intelligence would have it Clair Harris, Sue Bond and an Italian Fine Art dealer named Maria have a cabin for six booked as they also were bumped from first class and out of the kindness of their hearts take pity on us and offer to share their space. When they found out they were no longer on soft sleepers they booked two seats each in hard sleepers, a tip worth remembering.
The train is packed with Han Chinese, Tibetans, the Tibetan art market trail blazers, ourselves and a local journalist and photographer from Beijing who are writing a travel story for an Australian travel Magazine. It is 10.30 pm by the time we have all stashed our cases under the seats and have crawled into our bunks. Pat Visaya and myself are very quiet as we are very grateful for the assistance of the women in the cabin and do not want to be a nuisance in any way. I find it hard to settle as we rock through the night and have to creep to the toilet and find water. The toilets are already
hygienically challenged and I suspect that the worst is yet to come.
When we awake the landscape is dusty little valleys and peaks encasing small country villages that cultivate the patchworks of small crops that sustain them. On the train people chatter away as they fill their noodles with hot water from the urn, Visaya and I sit in the hallway as we watch another world pass by. Wayne Quarendon, an art dealer from London and I go for coffee in the dinning car, which is spacious and simple with a red plastic rose per table and a cloth under glass. The girls serving are abrupt and to the point and make it quite clear they put up with no nonsense. It is a break from the cabin and the view from the windows is worth gazing at. On the way back to the cabin we pass through the sitting carriages, three of them and I feel for the poor buggers, some with their children who have a long two days ahead of them. Oh to be an elite white foreigner coming from a privileged position.
On return to the cabin Clair and Pat (the two academics) are engaged in deep conversations about modernisms, contemporary art in minority cultures, and ways in which to re think the existing frameworks. I crawl back into my bunk on the second level and doze as I catch up on some sleep. The train stops at Xian at about 10.30 am
on day one and we stretch our legs on the station as more people get on and a few disembark the train.
Pat, Visaya and myself head for the dinning car and continue conversations with people we have met. The food is simple fare, rice, vegetable dishes, pork, some chicken. The arid view continues although the mountains are becoming more pronounced as scantily clad peasants work the land. Visaya spots some donkeys and then a huge industrial plant invades the skyline. We head back to the cabin to read and rest some more, I catch up on lost sleep from the last six weeks of travelling and partying. (I have to confess) It seem that Visaya has cabin fever, she is literally starting to swing from the rafters.
We have dinner with Sue the English art consultant and Maria who specialises in traditional Italian arts, who are lovely ladies and watch as the scenery shifts to a more subtle dusk outlook with higher mountain surrounds. Dusty looking men and women work on rebuilding the edges of the railway shifting big rocks, moving earth and re painting colourful slogans on the walls and edges of the railway line. We see glimpses of lakes and running waters that tumble down from the mountains and assist in the maintenance of the vibrant greens of the soft grasses on the plains. Another day of conversations, naps and moving pictures has passed and we head back to car number 16 for bed.
The toilets are becoming even more like chambers of the antichrist and we all hold our bladders for as long as possible between visits. Pat is on a mission and keeps hitting the emergency button in the toilet in the hope someone will come and clean, she has also been swishing all left over noodles and hot water into the bowl in an attempt to move on the foul deposits that decorate the edges of the squat.
Night two: I wake in the night to see the full moon over the plains, we have risen to the Tibetan plateau and are travelling the permafrost, the mountainous ranges all around are quite astounding. There are snow-capped peaks casting long shadows and glistening pools of frozen ice on the ground. One could describe the landscape as cool, haunting and in a sense mystical, I keep expecting to see wolves. Listening to the quite in the cabin I breathe in a moments serenity and give thanks. I awake in the morning to the hissing of the oxygen valve that has activated over my head. There are several in and around the cabin hissing away and they continue to do so for the remainder of the journey so as to assist in the demise of altitude sickness among its passengers.
Pat and Maria awake with headaches and feel that they are showing some signs of altitude sickness. We pass a small desolate outpost as a few tankers drive past the train and a procession of Chinese army vehicles pass in the opposite direction. Once again we head for the dinning car, the sitters look more dishevelled and some are sleeping on the floor in front of their seats propping themselves up with various bags and pillows, the smell of noodles and tinned fish permeates the cabins as we try not to be to obtrusive as we pass through. We have named these three cabins Guantanimo.
The girls in the dinning car have breakfasts of white bread, jam, a very oily fried egg and a pot of Luke warm weak Nescafe ready to go. The landscape is reliably awesome with photo opportunity after photo opportunity. We view wild yaks, Tibetan horses, small antelopes, sheep and foxes roaming the plains quite oblivious to the train and travellers on board. We are now around 4,700mtrs in height and travelling on the extraordinary Tibetan plateau, which leads to our destination Lhasa.
People stop talking and start watching, we are remiss to sleep in case we miss something. We take in glimpses of the Tibetan peoples compounds isolated in these dramatic landscapes with their ponies, yaks, brightly coloured clothing and children. They go about their daily tasks under vast blue grey skies, working the plains which flicker to and from the shadows of dramatic mountains. We pass by an enormous blue lake which seems to go on forever. It has been a day for contemplation and viewing and as the afternoon draws to a close there is a sense of excitement as we realise we are two hours from Lhasa and people pack and chatter.
A track from Buddah Bar plays loudly over the speaker as we wind our way through more populated villages on the outskirts of Lhasa as people on the train sing and are joyous. We pull into the Lhasa station one hour before schedule at 8pm. Pat Visaya and I say our goodbyes to the group as we head for a taxi and then to our hotel, The Tibetan, which Pat booked from Australia, supposedly near to the Potala Palce but not so? As usual the taxi is a challenge as the driver speaks no English and probably cannot read. We do not have the hotel name written in Tibetan in any case and I have a brainwave, we find the hotel number make the call and get someone at the hotel to speak to the driver.
The Tibetan is a four star number, large and quite luxurious from the looks of things although it seems to be quite empty. The reception staff are frosty to say the least and insist on passports and permits before showing us to our room which is large, and has lots of mood lighting looking out onto a garden area with a large tree. The beds have clean white dooners and we are happy. We all take pleasure in toiletries before heading out to explore the area and find some dinner. I look on the map and we are not within a quick walk to the centre of town and the Potala.
We seem to be in a bar area, there are lots of cafes, a laundry, bakery, hairdresser, etc. I spot a Tibetan herbal pharmacy and have a chat with the pharmacist via gesticulation and body language about altitude sickness and what we should be doing. He sells me some herbs called Gaoyuankang capsules which have been developed in Tibet for the purpose of alleviating altitude sickness with the instruction that we should take two a day for four days. Pat is a little worried what they are but I get stuck into them and they seem to work well and soon she follows suite.
Visaya and I still have bouts of breathlessness and palpitations and Pat has a glimpse of the odd headache but for the most part we are fine and powering. We find a simple café to eat in, point at some green vegetables, rice and eggs with tomatoes and enjoy some local peasant food at a very cheap price. We return to the Tibetan to discover the showers are luke warm and the beds are comfy and have a big sleep.
I phone our tour guide in the morning and Jimmy meets us at the hotel at 10am ready to show us around. Jimmy is around 32, single speaks three languages Tibetan, Chinese, Indian and is also learning French. He has suffered from polio as a child and attended a language school in India from the age of 11. He is a sweet and patient man and has an enormous amount of knowledge about the major religious sites and is very willing to share. Our first stop is the Nobulinka which is the palace/museum and last home of the Dali Lama before he was exiled. The temperature is around 10degrees in the morning to about 24degrees and sunny during the day.
Construction began in the 1740s. The area used to be wasteland with wild animals, weeds and scrub which the Seventh Dalai Lama liked and often visited, and, as a result, the Qing magistrate had a palace built. Years later, Kelsang Potrang was built by order of the Seventh Dalai Lama. Later it was used as the Summer Palace for successive Lamas, where they solved the political problems and held festive celebrations. After a series of expansions and renovations, the appearance was improved with potrangs, pavilions, gardens and woods. It has now been turned into a park open to the public.
The Norbulinka has beautiful gardens complete with clover and white bunnies, old cypress trees and fountains. When you enter the museum you feel the presence of sacred space and are able to view ancient painted texts on the walls that start with the first stories of the Monkey Buddah and how Buddism came from India to Tibet. Images notate stories about Lhasa and speak of the transition through the ages until the present day and the current Dali Lama. We read in the Lonely Planet Guide that he will not reincarnate again into this world. (sad, and maybe/hopefully untrue) All of the stories are told through visual images that are expressive figurative works with Hindu features speaking of incarnations and interactions through time and space.
The rooms, of which there are over 300 are human in their proportions and seem to have an air of somebody’s home although by Tibetan standards I’m sure it’s quite an elaborate Palace. We spend some time wandering the garden and then Jimmy takes us to a guesthouse for some traditional Tibetan fare, which is rice, yak meat and chilli, and some jasmine tea. We catch cabs everywhere and a standard fare in Lhasa is 10 Yuan as there are no meters.
Our plan for the afternoon is the Sera Monastery, which is situated close by in the mountains, however first we have to go and que for tickets to the Potala Palace for the following day where we stand in line just before 12 pm when the booking office opens. They want booking numbers and passports from everyone and we will que again at the foot of the Potala Palace tomorrow at 10am (no later) we are told, show our passports again and pay 100 Yuan on entry.
The taxi fare to Sera Monastery is 20 Yuan as it is outside the CBD entry fee 100 Yuan. The approach is impressive as the buildings nestle into the side of some serious mountains, which appear to be like gigantic rock piles that project into the sky. Monks who were once numbered in the thousands are now around 400 in number are known for their study and debating of the scriptures and their martial arts skills. We arrive in afternoon it and in the central courtyard the monks are having a debate which will last for the rest of day followed by a gathering in the assembly hall with some serious prayer and chanting to follow.
The three Gelug monasteries of Sera, Drepung and Ganden were known collectively as the "Pillars of the State". As such there was naturally political rivalry between them. This can even be seen in the naming of this monastery. Sera, meaning "merciful hail" is a challenge to Drepung monastery, whose name means "rice heap" in the sense that hail damages rice. This rebellious monastery, some of whose monks were famed for their soldiery last challenged power in 1947. In the course of this failed coup, they even made an attempt on the then Regent's life. Founded in 1419, at its height, Sera monastery was residence to more than 5,000 monks and five monastic colleges. Although much less active now, with only several hundred monks currently in residence, one of the most interesting times to visit the monastery is in the afternoon when monks, after finishing their morning scripture classes, can be seen debating in the courtyard.
The debate is a spectacle like no other that I have seen with 400men and boys as some of the monks enter the monastic life as young as 8 years old take positions of teacher and student in the courtyard debating over the scriptures in a most verbal and physical way. There is rocking and stomping and slapping of hands hard at one another in determined gestures that would suggest that they really know what they are on about.
The monks are wearing rich red maroon robes with red saches barefoot with the shaved or recently shaved heads.
A few spectators including ourselves were present and we watched in awe at the strange and intense behaviour, the expressions on the monks’ faces and the determination of the gestures. It was a beautiful afternoon, and the walled courtyard filtered dappled sunlight through the tall, soft conifers. I find myself trying to catch studies of the faces with my camera whilst soaking up the warmth and the moment.
Pat Visaya and I go for a walk around the monks quarters and then Jimmy takes us into the temple and explained the deity’s, Buddahs and tombs, of which there are so very many. Many Tibetans are adding to the big butter burners and presenting silk scarves and money to the various Buddahs. A long line of women move through the temple site with their small children and babies who have painted black koala noses. Very curious I thought, on inquiry Jimmy explained that there was a particular Buddah here that mothers presented there sleepless babies to. We watched as the mothers and grandmothers put the babies heads into a hole in the wall where you could view the specific deity and the monks gave blessings to the babes.
Hopefully through acts of faith and blessings Tibetan children will sleep at nights.
On leaving the temple we see many monks from the debate scurrying madly to the assembly hall ready for the wind down of the days debating. Apparently (according to Jimmy) it was unusual that we were permitted to sit in on such an occasion so we sat quietly at the back of the hall whilst some monks in white did quite a lot of talking and chanting started the procedures. Once again according to the Lonely Planet Guide, in 1988 the monks tried to protest against the Chinese invasion 30 monks circled the monastery chanting and holding signs of protest, four days later they were beaten and arrested, 2000 angry Tibetans gathered to protest 150 were wounded and 18 died in the fight that ensued
at this historic site. (horrific)
As we were leaving the monastery I made the mistake of offering a group of mothers and children some money to take their photos and was mobbed by about ten little urchins who followed me and harassed me all the way down the hill. I gave them
10 Yuan and on leaving saw them buying little mirrors and trinkets from the various market stalls. We head back to town, have an awful meal in a café bar near the hotel, it rains heavily on the way home and we return to the hotel to a blackout and no electricity, we manage to acquire one candle from the reception desk and head for bed without even attempting to do battle with the luke warm shower.
The following morning we make our way with Jimmy to the Potala Palace which has a monumental presence over Lhasa and sits watching us all.
Perched upon Marpo Ri hill, 130 meters above the Lhasa valley, the Potala Palace rises a further 170 meters and is the greatest monumental structure in all of Tibet. Early legends concerning the rocky hill tell of a sacred cave, considered to be the dwelling place of the Bodhisattva Chenresi (Avilokiteshvara), that was used as a meditation retreat by Emperor Songtsen Gampo in the seventh century AD. In 637 Songtsen Gampo built a palace on the hill. This structure stood until the seventeenth century, when it was incorporated into the foundations of the greater buildings still standing today. Construction of the present palace began in 1645 during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama and by 1648 the Potrang Karpo, or White Palace, was completed. The Potrang Marpo, or Red Palace, was added between 1690 and 1694; its construction required the labors of more than 7000 workers and 1500 artists and craftsman. In 1922 the 13th Dalai Lama renovated many chapels and assembly halls in the White Palace and added two stories to the Red Palace. The Potala Palace was only slightly damaged during the Tibetan uprising against the invading Chinese in 1959. Unlike most other Tibetan religious structures, it was not sacked by the Red Guards during the 1960s and 1970s, apparently through the personal intervention of Chou En Lai. As a result, all the chapels and their artifacts are very well preserved.
We taxi past the two large golden yaks that stand tall on the major roundabout into town and pass a number of elegant white stupas on the way to and out of the front of the Potala Palace. Once again we que to show passports and stand in line until we get the okay to pay our 100 Yuan entry fee. It has snowed during the night on the surrounding mountains and is very cool, about 6 degrees but also very beautiful. I am breathless as I walk the sacred way winding toward the Potala which is quite a climb and all of us on the path stop at differing times to admire the view and catch our breath. Many Tibetans with their dark skin, decorated hair, flowing robes and prayer wheels are heading toward their holy place. It is a magnificent morning with many moving sights to behold.
On entry to the initial courtyard we are meet by the chants of a group of around 200 men and women working in a traditional way to resurface the yard. This process is called Breaknarka, translated as breaking ground. There are four or five lines of people stomping and pounding the earth with flat bundles on sticks and their boots and others are hosing and adding lime and concrete to the surface. They chant as they work and there is a particular order to their movements. Two rows move forward at the same time then the third then the fourth then they all stomp back across the surface together. The chanting is melodic and different lines have different chants, they will work all day in this way to resurface the courtyard a harmonious group of peoples working together to retain their culture and maintain their sacred space.
The Potala is as to be expected huge, full of treasures, shrines, alters, Buddahs, manuscripts, views and patinas from various generations, of maintenance or not.
Another 7th century building that has had various lives and stories etched into its being. We spent at least three hours inside wandering from room to room-reading didactic panels and breathing in the yak butter and frankincense which is contained in large golden urns that take a central positions in all of the passageways and rooms that contain scriptures and gods. Many Tibetans, Han Chinese and a few foreign tourists stand in lines, say prayers and contribute to the big butter burners.
After our decent Jimmy escorts us to the Puntsok Khasang International Youth Hostel 0086 891 6915222 8000 for a look and Pat books a dorm for three for an additional 5 nights which is spacious has its own bathroom and a view from the 4th floor for 120 Yuan a night around $25 Australian per night. After eating lunch in a local café called the Lhasa Café (which is excellent) overlooking the Barkor Bazaar that is a hub of stalls selling prayer flags, cloth, traditional clothing, beads, horse riding apparatus, paintings, incenses and various other treasures we head to the Jokhang Temple also from the 7th century which stands in the centre of the Barkor Bazaar square.
Tibetans gather here for the markets to sell their wares as they have for centuries, however this is a major religious site and many Tibetans walk the square with their prayer wheels and beads. Some prostate themselves around the whole square particularly in the morning, some prostate repeatedly in the entry of the temple which every Tibetan is supposed to visit at least once before they die. The ancient Johkag Temple is the end route of a pilgrimage that all devout Tibetan Buddhists must visit in their lifetime an extremely holy place.
The Jokhang, or "House of the Lord," is the holiest site in Tibet and is the ultimate pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Buddhists. King Songtsen Gampo first built a temple here in the mid-7th century, but the structure that we see today is largely the result of reconstruction in the 17th century, commissioned by the Fifth Dalai Lama. The Jokhang houses the Jowo Buddha, a Buddhist sculpture brought as part of the dowry of the Chinese Princess Wencheng upon her arrival in Tibet. It is said that upon her husband, King Songtsen Gampo's death, the princess hid the sculpture in the temple. The miraculous survival of this ancient Buddhist sculpture makes it today one of Tibet's most revered images.
The front of the Jokhang Temple is graced with two gigantic incense burners which people are literally shovelling herbs into that billow scented smoke and flames about three meters into the atmosphere. No wonder they are situated outside the temple as they are a real fire hazard. The Temple was said to have been built upon a lake and houses very expressive Buddha’s from the Indian lineage. There are scriptures that are relevant to each one and the carving and paintings inside the building are well preserved and beautiful. The old stone floor has a very worn patina and is quite shinny and smooth due to the centuries of usage. You can access the rooftop which houses a number of beautiful golden stupas which can be seen from all over town, from the rooftop you also get a magnificent view of Lhasa, the Potala Palace and the Barkor Bazaar below.
On leaving the Temple we wander the Bazaar in search of the Gedun Choephel artists guild where the Tibetan artists we know are operating from and we find it quite easily. As luck would have it as we entered so did a number of people from the train journey and many of the artists that had exhibited in Beijing as well as Liegh Sangster, Clair Harris, Gonkar Gyatso, Wayne Quarendon and Fabio Rossi.
It would appear that we have stumbled into the Lhasa de brief from the Beijing exhibition New Art From Tibet currently still installed at 798 Redgate gallery and it goes like this. All of the artists from the exhibition and others who belong to the guild that I have not meet including the one female member are present. Fabio opens the discussion by stating that the exhibition is yet another historical moment for Tibetan Contemporary Art and extends a special thanks to Clair Harris and Gonkar Gyatso for their work with the artists and the guild. Fabio speaks about the way in which Gonker has snowballed internationally and has been well received critically & commercially with an emphasis on the fact that 70% of Gonkars’ works have sold.
He states that commercial interest is growing fast as well as the quality of the art and that there is potential to have a bigger and better art space as well as 4 to 5 solo exhibitions coming out of Lhasa in the near future, plus another group exhibition at Redgate scheduled in one year. Clair Harris then speaks and asks some very difficult academic questions which are addressed to the artists and I am sure most of them do not get what she is talking about, whether to position oneself as a post-modern or modernist artist and what the outcomes might be etc.
At this point Neandak and Keltse respond by stating that they do not want to get into a situation wherein they are obliged to follow certain trends, and that although the work may sell well it may become a recognisable style as they have observed in the Chinese contemporary art scene. They concluded that they are concerned with expressing ideas and concerns about their own journeys and developing a contemporary identity that still expresses notions of selfhood in the ever-changing world of Tibet. They insist they do not want to follow but to keep their own minds and develop the group/ guild.
Pat then address some questions to the artists about the guild and mentions her personal experiences with the Bagio Guild, she then goes on to highlight the San Paolo Biennale 2006 noting that some of the strongest works there were from a local guild of artists such as themselves. The artists had managed to circumnavigated the dealers and trends in order to speak their truth and promote their own careers, which of course is contrary to Fabio’s notion of how a dealer promotes an artist through a subversive edge that has control over which works are promoted where etc. Fabio started to get a little hot under the collar and put forth the discussion that contemporary art would stand in the market regardless of whence it came.
I then addressed a question to Gonkar about a work of his called La International which was in the above mentioned exhibition, and how although that work clearly spoke of his success in the international contemporary art market it also acted as a strong voice that spoke from a position of being a Tibetan who has lived through a time when his national identity and future has been challenged. During his formative years la International was a song the Chinese taught the children in school so that they would learn the Chinese language. It was also used to question their allegiance to Tibet by promoting Chinese rule. I concluded that the message was a strong one and clearly could only have transpired through his early experiences which were specific to being a Tibetan in a certain place at a certain time. Gonkar agreed and Fabio started to discuss the position of Contemporary arts once again.
At this point Visaya and Pat have really had enough and I say my goodbyes and leave. Pat Visaya and I go to a typically Tibetan restaurant with great food and lots of music, drinking and hilarity we share a joyous meal together and have a giggle about our day. We go back to the hotel pack and sign out, we go and book into the hostel and the three of us go for a wander through the Barkor Bazaar before I have to catch a taxi to the airport and head back to Beijing as I am leaving for Australia tomorrow.
It takes a while to get a taxi and we negotiate the price at $130 Yuan the drive takes close to one and a half hours through mountainous country, over rivers through tunnels we wind past army trucks, police vehicles, busses and peasants with their carts and crops. The roads are quite busy and the view is interesting. I feel a sadness at leaving so soon I would like to come back and soak up more of Tibet and spend some more time with the artists from the guild. I will have to start working on it for some future project or possibility.
The flight takes five hours as we stop at Guanzhou to pick up more passengers. On my arrival to Beijing I get a call from Kelly Gellatly who is also leaving tomorrow and stop for drinks with Brian, Tony , Kelly and a couple of others. Brian helps me out when I have difficulties accessing the apartment and my luggage and we have departing beers together late into the night.
Until Next Time
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
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