Mandala: Zone of Zero
2003
The jukeboxes emit three different religious chants: Tibetan Buddhist, Gregorian, and Islamic. Although kitschy and commercial, here they paradoxically stand in for mandalas, diagrammatic images of religious cosmos. As the title suggests, different beliefs merge and eventually reach the “zone of zero.” This call for embracing religious diversity feels more relevant and needed than ever.
Three-channel sound installation with three jukeboxes, 9 min., 50 sec.
Audio duration: 9 min., 50 sec.
Gift of William and Ruth True in honor of Chiyo Ishikawa and the reopening of the Seattle Asian Art Museum
2020.13
Provenance: The artist; [The Project, New York]; purchased from gallery by Bill and Ruth True, Seattle, Washington, 2004; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2020
Photo: Jueqian Fang