Art journal #139: Transforming Minds: Buddhism in Art @ Asia Society HK

Amazing space; goes to tell what a bit (well a lot) of local gravitas can get you in HK. Converted from structures that used to hold military explosives, the AsiaSoc HK site in Admiralty is a combination of new and old. HKJC is a happy funder of the restoration, plus local billionaires like Joe Lau (to whom the sky garden is named after). But I presume Ronnie Chan of Hang Lung pulled significant weight, as AsiaSoc's HK Center Chairman, to get the HK Govt to offer up the site. I think its superbly done - all local restoration/preservation projects in HK should be like this. Also goes to tell what a high profile location can do to an NGO's standing in the community!

The first show is a great one that showcased the Rockfeller collection, focusing on Buddha images (which should have broad appeal in Chn HK - a smart move for an inauguration show). Given the theme, one'd expect the now de rigueur Zhang Huan incense-ash Buddha (which seems to be over exposed, however much I like them). Whats rare and probably not seen in Asia before is the Buddha Amitabha from Japan, made of cypress wood, which is stunning and full of history - in the past when it was in use, a red string will be tied to the statue's hand to a dying person at his death bed, to help lead him into heaven. This will be the last time this work travels out of US, because of the fragile state it is in.

My favorite (and unsurprisingly a more contemporary piece) is Korean American Michael Joo's psychedelic work, Bodhi Obfuscatus. It is a heavenly intervention of a 3rd century Gandaharan Buddha from the Rockerfeller Collection by a 'video helmet' made of 50 cameras projecting images of different sides of the Buddha onto mirrors surrounding the room - questioning whether the work is unique anymore in its multiplicity, and the possible multiple identities of the Buddha (and all of us) and we look into the mirrors of the world. Of course there's flashes of Nam June Paik as I saw this work, but I think it stands proudly on its own as a great piece (and its only later that I found out its the winner of the Gwangju Biennale a few years back!)