Welcome to the first post (or the maiden voyage if you will) of The Voyager! Super grateful and excited to begin this journey of opening up the floodgates and flooding you with the many thoughts and ideas that I have sitting on the shelves.
I: A visit to the past.
So allow me to begin the first official newsletter by peeling back the layers from my series, Samsara. This project is perhaps the one that I find the most difficult to explain as it consists of so many unique layers; each photograph consists of an excerpt of a particular Buddhist or ancient Taoism teaching/quote/story/orcale reading, which upon the creation of the photographs, visually combines my reflection from these teachings with my surroundings, from a perspective that so immersive to the point that idea or the concept of self-identity/individual cease to exist, and one’s pulse is in tandem with all the trees, the animals, the insects and other living beings living in that moment and in that space.
There is no particular narrative to view this series; the concept of time in this project is cyclic instead of linear, and each photograph is a standalone piece; all exist as one and vice versa. If I have to describe a scene as an example of what has been said above, it would be like how astronomers explore distant galaxies and stars. Surreal and distant but yet so deeply interconnected.
The research component itself comprises of four different teachings; two Buddhist doctrines called Samsara(Cycle of life / འཁོར་བ་) and Anitya (Impermanence / མི་རྟག་པ་), the I Ching (Ancient Chinese orcale readings) and Taoism ('Chinese Alchemy' by Jean Cooper), supported by excerpts from other bits of philosophies I found along the way. If my work is an encrypted one, then this mural called a Bhavacakra is the key to decrypting it.
Bhavacakra is an illustrated mural painted on the walls of Buddhist temples that explains the meaning of Samsara to non-Buddhists. Now, the explanation of this is very detailed; like my project, there are many layers and meanings to it, but you can learn more about it via the link here if you fancy a deeper dive into the world of Buddhism. How you first see this mural is the same way I intended how you see my project as a whole for the first time. Each layer and element within the mural reflects a particular cycle of life of a living being/realm, and/or visually represents a teaching or an action. The concept of time in this mural and project is cyclic in nature rather than linear. It’s both inclusive, like all living being on Earth, for example, and exclusive, like an ant or a pet.
Just like the Bhavacakra, how I visualised the project as a whole is quite similar to the experience of seeing the mural in person for the first time. What you see in its entirety, is a reflection of all the cycles of life, the suffering, the decadence, the good deeds and the bad deeds, in different realms existing at the same time repeatedly.
In upcoming posts, I'll peel back the layers of selected works and explain the processes which transpired their creation, because it's nearly impossible to break down everything in a single post (I'll bore everyone to death).
Now if someone were to ask how exactly I came about doing this work, I have to take you back far into the days of pre-pandemic travel. Back in 2018, upon the dusty sandbanks of the Ganges River facing the pyres of Varanasi, lies a small makeshift encampment. In there lived a small group of holy men known as the Aghoris. Highly respected and revered by the general public, these monks are from an ancient secretive sect whose practices are still shrouded in mystery.
And it was there, on that dusty sandbank, I met a monk (formerly a bank manager) who chose a life of an Aghori after a 'being' visited him in his dreams. And it was he, that planted the seeds and laid the first foundation stone of this project.
II: A message from the present.
MOVING on, I’m so excited to share an announcement that I’m part of a group exhibition at the Bull & Stein Gallery in Porto, Portugal. Curated by Patrícia Calvário from the Institute of Philosophy of the Catholic University of Louvain. This exhibition titled "Vision of God" features an amazing curation of international visual artists based on the theme of spirituality. It is currently on display till the 23rd of June.
III: An announcement for the future.
LASTLY, I’m so excited as well to share another announcement that I am officially putting my finishing touches to my brand new online print store after many months of contemplation. If it weren’t for the lovely people from The Print Space (they’re a UK-based printing company), I probably would have toyed with the idea for another, I don't know, five or six months. The store is set to open officially, on the 28th of April. (if you’re a Singaporean and keen on getting a piece of my work, please do contact me privately :D)
So yes, that is all for the first post! Thank you so much once again, really appreciate you being here! Please do feel free to let me know your thoughts, I'm still a little new to the concept of sharing my thoughts and writing, so if you have recommendations or anything you like to know more about, my channels are all open, and your comments are definitely welcome.
And if you enjoyed this post, please share it — it really helps get the word out.
See you all in the next post and hope you’ve got a great start to the day!
Alvin