Transparent Inflatable Buddha floating on the water
10 ft (H) x 10 ft (W) x 10 ft (D)
“A Buddha, Full of Air, Sits Serenely On the Waves” The New York Times, 2012
Floating Echo is a transparent inflatable statue of Buddha sitting on lotus on the water. It was inspired by my visits to Buddhist temples in Korea and Zen gardens in Japan. The clear giant plastic sculpture floats like an invisible being. Through the statue one can see the nature,landscape and architecture around the water. Its subtle presence embraces and reflects the surroundings, both natural and man-made. It is seeming present and absent at the same time.
Despite all of the societal changes brought about by modernity and the endless acceleration of technological change, spiritualism is still deeply integrated into contemporary life. In this work the form of the Buddha is rendered in clear plastic, a ubiquitous everyday material, and could be read simply as a kitsch object, yet Buddha is an eternal entity and a transcendental figure. This translucent statue echoes mysteriously on the water which represents intangibility, infinity and bodilessnes. What one sees is one’s own environment rather than the Buddha itself. Its elusive beingness provokes fundamental questions of existence. “Floating Echo” coexists and contradicts with nature, material and the Self.
Socrates Sculpture Park, New York, 2012
as part of “Locating The Sacred Festival,” The Asian American Arts Alliance
Busan Sea Art Festival, Korea, 2011
Three Rivers Festival, Pittsburgh, 2013
