Contemporizing Thangka Art

Tsherin Sherpa is a Tibetan artist who explores contemporary themes through his neo-traditional approach to Tibetan thangka painting. Born in Kathmandu, Nepal, he began studying thangka painting as a child under the tutelage of his father, Master Urgen Dorje, a renowned Tibetan thangka artist. In 1998, Sherpa moved to California, where he initially worked at a Buddhist center as a thangka artist and teacher. During this period, his introduction to the world of fine art led him to study art theory and art history, and to explore new works and mediums that are outside of traditional boundaries. Neocha spoke to Sherpa about his thoughts on art, culture, and Tibetan traditions in the modern world.

Neocha: How did you get started as an artist?

Tsherin Sherpa: At around the age of 13, my father decided to train me in the traditional art of thangka painting after seeing my interest in drawing. The formal training lasted for about five years. Training at such a young age was very tedious in the beginning. My first lesson was on drawing the head of the Buddha with a traditional grid measurement system, which I drew every day for almost three months. It was all about mastering the skill through repetition. After that, I learned how to prepare the mineral pigment paint, paint application, brush making, canvas preparation, and fine outlining with ink and gold. After a few years, I also studied Buddhist philosophy to understand the symbolism of Buddhist imagery.

Neocha: Can you tell us a bit about your creative process and technique? Where do you draw inspiration from?

Tsherin Sherpa: My recent works are very much inspired and informed by my own situation, as well as everything I experience around me. For example, the recent solo show I had in Hong Kong at Rossi & Rossi Gallery, titled Beautiful Decay, was inspired by the 2015 earthquake in Nepal. As for my technique, I blend traditional thangka painting techniques with several other techniques using various materials, which I experiment with on a regular basis in my studio. I am actually inspired and influenced by many artists both from the past and present: Duchamp, Warhol, and Murakami, to name a few.

Neocha: One of the main themes in your work is the profane versus the sacred. Can you tell us more about that?

Tsherin Sherpa: It’s fascinating to see how icons and imagery connote different meanings to different people. I am interested in exploring and understanding the functionality of these images from one culture, and their perception among people from various backgrounds who may or may not be familiar with that culture. It’s interesting to see how people, who are familiar with the culture, interact and confront the work, in comparison to people who are experiencing it for the first time. For example, works such as Luxation 1 and Luxation 2 consist of sixteen fragments of a traditional thangka. Those who are familiar with the image can immediately recognize the iconography, or even reconnect the fragments in their mind. But someone who may not be familiar with the iconography or the culture may find it to be an abstract design.

Neocha: Another one of your main themes is the preservation of culture. How do you maintain Tibetan tradition while being an artist in the modern world?

Tsherin Sherpa: Because of the training I’ve received from my childhood until now, and having grown up surrounded by Tibetan culture, the traditional iconography has remained a part of my vocabulary, through which I use to explore contemporary concerns. There isn’t so much emphasis on the preservation of Tibetan traditions in my work. To me, the Tibetan identity, iconography, and tradition are simply the starting points of the conversation through which everything else is explored.

Neocha: Your recent work, Wish Fulfilling Tree, was in response to the Nepal earthquake of 2015. Can you tell us more about that project?

Tsherin Sherpa: On April 2015, a catastrophic earthquake generated a shockwave that coursed through the people and structures of Nepal. Being away in America, images and stories of the destruction and aftermath arrived through secondhand sources. Not until August of that year did I personally witness the damage to familiar locations and neighborhoods from my childhood. Seeing my home uprooted sparked the initial desire to bear witness and rebuild.

For this project, I chose the traditionally inspired structure of the mandala, for within its structure, it holds the connotations of home, wholeness, and harmony. As I traveled around, I listened to neighbors’ stories about what they had gone through and what they still needed in order to rebuild. Many people were living in temporary structures since their homes were uninhabitable. People continued waiting for the arrival of funding to aid them. With these experiences arose a natural desire to work with the Nepalese people as an act of healing. I photographed survivors as a part of my documentation. I collected broken household objects that were damaged during the earthquake. These objects may seem random, but they hold special memories tied to homes and families. By gathering them all together in a new arrangement, they begin re-contextualization into something that is stronger than the individual fragments. A further shared commonality was acquired by asking seven hundred survivors to sign five rupee bank notes as a wish or prayer. I collaborated with local craftsmen to make the copper structure of the mandala that now contains these gathered objects as well as my spirit figure holding its hands up in a peace symbol. It’s hoped that the symbolic communal wish will reverberate back out into the community for the healing and rebuilding process of Nepal.

Neocha: Any upcoming plans you would like to share with our readers?

Tsherin Sherpa: I’m participating in a couple of current and upcoming shows, including Between Us: Relationship and Identity in Tibetan Contemporary Art at the Frank Museum of Arts at Otterbein University in Ohio, USA, and the Kathmandu Triennale 2017: The City, My Studio in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Website: tsherinsherpa.com

Contributor: George Zhi Zhao
Images Courtesy of Tsherin Sherpa and Rossi & Rossi Gallery