ཡིད་བཞིན། - As the Mind Wishes
Oneness, 2025
From the ceiling is a auspicious scarf (khadak) blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama., pangden, ash
Ø 200cm
Exhibition in Dharamshala, October 2025
curated by Khadhok - A Tibetan Artists’ Collective.
The installation Oneness unfolds as a meditative space, at whose center lies ash – a symbol of impermanence and the inevitable passing that permeates all life.
Around this center lies a concentric circle: robes of monks and nuns, followed by pangden, the traditional aprons of Tibetan women. Each layer of material speaks its own symbolic language – the robes as embodiments of the Buddhist teachings, the practice of compassion, and the search for liberation; the aprons as references to the mothers of all beings, to origin, care, and the strength of life.
Descending from the ceiling is a robe of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It creates a vertical axis between heaven and earth, spirit and body, past and present. In this gesture, the work becomes a bridge between the earthly and the transcendent.
The selection of robes refers to the diversity of Tibetan-Buddhist traditions: Gelug, Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, Bönpo, as well as nunneries from different traditions – complemented by pangden from Tibet and India. In their convergence, what unites them becomes visible: the shared experience of impermanence and the common root in compassion.
Oneness does not present itself as a dogmatic statement but as a quiet invitation. It calls upon us to recognize our interconnectedness across differences – as human beings, as living beings, as part of a shared existence.
The installation is both an act of remembrance and a wish for the future: that we may encounter one another with mindfulness, cause no harm, and, in the spirit of peace, form a community that acknowledges its common roots.
Oneness is a quiet appeal: despite different traditions, origins, and life paths, we are one. The work invites us to recognize our shared humanity, to act with mindfulness and compassion, and to seek peace.