This project is inspired by my visit to Sanjusangendo Temple in Kyoto. There, upon seeing 1001 wooden Guanyin (Kannon in Japan), which were depicted as male gods with many hands, I begin to question the sex transformation of this deity across cultures and the reason behind such transition in the local myth. In Myanmar, Thailand and China, Guanyin (Kannon), the Bodhisattva of compassion whose name translate “one who can hears the lament of the world”, is most often depicted as a beautiful, feminine and powerful deity. In thinking about idol or religious icons formation within different cultures, I am curious what motivates the worship of each deity, how we shape the identity of who we worship and how the act of worship also shape us. 

 

In this project I have merged the East Asian goddess (Guanyin / Kannon) with Southeast Asian one (Naga Maedaw) whose identity formation was previously explored in my work to narrate the concept of multiculturalism and hybridization.

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This project was commissioned and exhibited at Simose Art Museum, Hiroshima, Japan. To reflect on its surrounding environment, the works were displayed on reflective plints to echo the water's reflection  in the surrounding the landscape of the museum.

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Credits

Co-curated by Yoko Negami 
Comissioned by Simose Art Museum

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Special thanks to Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park:

​Yoshimi Matsunami

Emi Yamasaki 

Mami Katsuya

Kosei Takagaki

Egashira Ryusuki

Chie Mashimo

 

Along with all the staffs in the office and also on the ground of Shigaraki.

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