Sand Mandala at Samye Dzong, London
The Tashi Lhunpo Monks are currently making a Sand Mandala at Samye Dzong. The Mandala will be completed on Wednesday morning and the sand will then be poured into the river Thames in a closing ceremony at Tower Bridge between 10-12am. Please visit the Darshana Photo Art Sand Mandala Gallery where images are being updated daily.
Of all the artistic traditions of Tantric Buddhism, that of painting with coloured sand is one of the most exquisite. The mandala essentially is a representation of the celestial mansion or abode of a principal deity or deities, surrounded by their retinues, and representing the path and fruition of the particular cycle of practices.
To make a sand mandala, millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place in an intricate design over a period of several days using hollow tubes called chagpurs. The material used is ground marble dust - but in ancient times powdered precious and semi-precious stones were also used. The monks will be creating a Medicine Buddha Mandala.
A total of eight monks are making the mandala over a period of five days. The exhibition begins with a short dedication prayer, and on completion, the mandala is dismantled in a moving ceremony during which the sand is swept into the centre of the table, symbolizing the impermanence of all things. A small amount of sand will be poured into the Thames after a small procession from the centre to Tower Bridge, and people attending the ceremony can take away with them small bags of sand as a memory of the event.
During the construction of the sand mandala, the monks will offer workshops which can be attended on a drop-in basis. Various workshops will introduce the Tibetan arts of sand mandala making, where people will be able to try a 'hands on' sand mandala as well as a butter sculpture, printing of prayer flags and writing beautiful Tibetan calligraphy. People taking part can carry away with them a prayer flag printed from a traditional wood block. Families and children are welcome to participate in these.
Isolates of Valid Perception Exhibition at Goldsmiths
#isolateperception Isolates of Valid Perception A Photography Exhibition by Gerry McCulloch
8th November 2013 - 3rd February 2014
NAB Gallery, Goldsmiths, University of London, Lewisham Way, New Cross, London SE14 6NW.
Gallery Opening / All Welcome: Friday 8th November at 6pm
Isolates of Valid Perception is a still and moving-image project that explores subjective relationships between consciousness and its appearing objects. This is the first collection of images in the series.
Within the context of the premise, an isolate is loosely posited as a pictorial or sequential element. However, entire picture systems and indeed collections of pictures can function as isolates. Each isolate is imbued with subliminal sensory cues. Mundane isolates mirror immanent isolates and vice-versa. Isolates ripen individually and collectively in the mindstream, but only if a trace of the isolate endures; uncontaminated by discursive elaboration in the perceptual continuum. The temporal sequence of . . . ~ Meeting the isolate in open presence ~ Sustaining the primacy of sensory cognizance ~ Suspending the impulse to conceptualise ~ and Embracing corporeal reciprocity
. . . is important, because contact with the isolate dissolves when discernment is attempted through the lens of a pre-configured paradigm.
Isolates of Valid Perception is part of the Goldsmiths department of Media and Communications 35th Anniversary celebrations. The Gallery Opening on November 8th at 6pm comprises of a range of exhibitions and is preceded by a one-day Media Symposium: Creative Critical Radical
(The NAB Gallery is in building number 2 on downloadable Campus Maps) Opening times: Monday to Friday: 9am - 6pm
Akong Rinpoche Film - Last Days of Crowd-funding Campaign
Please also see the Guardian Obituary of Akong Rinpoche. Strand Gallery Exhibition Opens
The picture behind me is from Japan last December and is part of my Isolates of Valid Perception project. The London Independent Photography exhibition is open from 22nd October until 3rd November at The Strand Gallery, 32 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6BP - right next to Charing Cross Station. Opening times: Monday - Saturday 11am - 7pm, Sunday : 11am - 6pm
Isolates of Valid Perception
Isolates of Valid Perception is a five-year still and moving-image project that explores subjective relationships between consciousness and its appearing objects. This is the first collection of images in the series. Within the context of the premise, an isolate is loosely posited as a pictorial or sequential element. However, entire picture systems and indeed collections of pictures can function as isolates. Each isolate is imbued with subliminal sensory cues. Mundane isolates mirror transcendent isolates and vice-versa. Isolates ripen individually and collectively in the mindstream, but only if a trace of the isolate endures; uncontaminated by discursive elaboration in the perceptual continuum. The temporal sequence of . . . ~ Meeting the isolate in open presence ~ Sustaining the primacy of sensory cognizance ~ Suspending the impulse to conceptualise ~ And embracing corporeal reciprocity . . . is important, because contact with the isolate dissolves when discernment is attempted through the lens of a pre-configured paradigm. If you encounter resonance with an isolate in this collection however fleetingly, please send your impression to [email protected] after 24 minutes have elapsed / Subject heading: #isolateperception. Your impressions are enthusiastically welcomed and will be incorporated into ensuing phases of the project. Research Premise: http://www.darshanaphotoart.co.uk/isolates.pdf Online Image Gallery: http://www.darshanaphotoart.co.uk/isolates Gerry McCulloch: http://www.darshanaphotoart.co.uk/Gerry #isolateperception London Independent Photography Exhibition Starts Tomorrow
Look out for this Darshana Photo Art picture by Gerry McCulloch in the London Independent Photography Exhibition at The Strand Gallery starting tomorrow. The picture will also feature in Gerry's Isolates of Valid Perception exhibition at the NAB Gallery, Goldsmiths from November 8th - 29th. More info soon. 22 OCTOBER - 3 NOVEMBER 2013 THE STRAND GALLERY 32 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6BP Opening times: Monday – Saturday: 11am – 7pm Sunday: 11am - 6pm Nearest tube: Charing Cross Welcome to London Independent Photography’s milestone 25th Annual Exhibition. Each year this is the highlight of our calendar - a must-see event for anyone interested and involved with photography in London. The exhibition runs from the 22nd October until 3rd November at The Strand Gallery, located in the heart of the West End. Approximately 800 submissions resulted in 108 images being selected for the exhibition. Prints have been selected by Francis Hodgson, Colin Pantall and Roelof Bakker. THE STRAND GALLERY is just moments from Trafalgar Square and is one of Europe’s most popular private photography galleries. Akong Rinpoche Killed in Tibet
Awake in the World Festival Closes
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche Opens Awake in the World Festival at SOAS
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche opened the Awake in the World Festival at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London on Thursday evening. The Sakyong's speech entitled Creating Enlightened Society opened the SOAS Festival that marks the 50th Anniversary of his father Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's arrival in the UK with his friend Akong Rinpoche.
The festival, organised by Shambhala London, runs until Sunday and includes events, workshops and guest speakers: Rigdzen Shikpo, Peter Conradi, Francesca Freemantle and others. Photos from the festival are updated daily in the Awake in the World festival photo gallery. Akong: A Remarkable Life in Elephant Journal
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