Initially hesitant to tend to this broken Tara* sculpture, I took on the task with thorough research and months of dedication. Over time, she became a familiar presence in my studio, transforming piece by piece. Reimagined with European bog oak at her core and set on Mongolian horse leather, she now sits at the ITTCA Tai Chi School in Delft.
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Auftragsarbeit: Guanyin* Mit gründlicher Recherche und monatelanger Arbeit verwandelte sie sich diese Skulptur Stück für Stück in meinem Atelier. Mit europäischer Mooreiche im Inneren und einer Basis aus mongolischem Pferdeleder steht sie nun in der ITTCA Tai Chi Schule in Delft.
* Tara, “the one who liberates,” is closely connected to Guanyin, the goddess of protection and compassion, known in southern Mongolia and linked to China’s Taoist traditions.
“People say I was born some time around the 18th century. I lived in Mongolia, in a temple. Ger in the countryside. During the time of Stalin’s repression the purgers were terrifying. Laying much of Mongolia’s ancient cultural heritage in ruins. People may no longer look at me. Had to hide me. (..) Covered by sand I was protected. Decades passed. The elements found their way with me. I fell apart. Nobody noticed. Eventually the wind brushed away the sand and revealed what I had become. (…) I lay there, shattered, waiting. Then I was pieced together, yet unable to listen. Unable to reach out to those in need, as once I had done. (…) But than, she appeared. (…) She questioned who I once had been, and what I had become. She took her time, to connect, to feel. (…) And then her touch, her hands, listening, as if being me. Compassionate. (..) She invited my hands back in space. Finger by finger, more grace. Giving my body a radiating power. Cleansed by her hands. (…) I awake, to find you again, reach out to you. She provided me a safe place to be. I feel life in my back, upright it goes, as old wood I meditate and listen. Blessed, I know my hands will touch again, enriched with the touch of yours.(…)” Text excerpt, written by the owner Maya Matthea
