Images in Melbourne and Canberra, Australia

Pictures of revered teachers, places, rupas, temples, shrine rooms etc. that bring inspiration to our members. Pilgrimage advice etc.
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Kim O'Hara
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Location: North Queensland, Australia

Images in Melbourne and Canberra, Australia

Post by Kim O'Hara »

I lived in Melbourne for many years before moving to a sunnier place :smile: and I still visit fairly often. I was going to start a thread with photos from a recent trip but have just come across this site - https://21tarasthangka.org/ - and its descriptions and pictures of an enormous Tara Thankgka which I missed but you might like.

Back soon with some photos of my own.

:namaste:
Kim
Fortyeightvows
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Re: Images in Melbourne and Canberra, Australia

Post by Fortyeightvows »

Thanks for sharing. It's great
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Kim O'Hara
Former staff member
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Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2012 1:09 am
Location: North Queensland, Australia

Re: Images in Melbourne and Canberra, Australia

Post by Kim O'Hara »

In the same city, in the main art gallery - the NGV - there's a very beautiful Kamakura-period Dainishi Nyorai image displayed traditionally between two mandalas. While I was there, a Japanese family came and sat in front of it as though to pay their respects to it, which is what I felt like doing, too.

:namaste:
Kim
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Kim O'Hara
Former staff member
Posts: 7047
Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2012 1:09 am
Location: North Queensland, Australia

Re: Images in Melbourne and Canberra, Australia

Post by Kim O'Hara »

The same gallery is holding a big international show alongside its normal exhibition. One of its major pieces - and certainly one of its biggest - is this one.

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It's huge. You can see it filling the courtyard (how they got it in is beyond me) and in relation to the people.
The reclining Buddha is a full-size copy of one from the Dunhuang caves, and the added figures are full-size copies of ancient Greek and Roman statues.
The catalogue says, "Xu Zhen’s monumental installation brings together Eastern and Western cultural heritages to create, in the artists own words, ‘a new form of creative culture’ that he hopes will help bring about understanding and appreciation across cultures," and, "Dunhuang [was] situated at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road. At the western end of the famed trade route, artists created sculptures devoted to the gods and heroes of Greek and Roman mythology. … Bringing cultural traditions together is Xu’s way of breaking down barriers."

I'm impressed by his technical skill but that's where my admiration stops.

:namaste:
Kim
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