5 Lights

DESCRIPTION

Archival pigment print on handmade Himalayan paper

2020

Explore Merriam's Wind Pictures | 3 Realms series.

Shot over two trips to Nepal in 2019, Merriam’s Prayer Flag Set is comprised of photographs of five famed peaks in the region: Machapuchare, Ama Dablam, Kantega, Tukuche, and Tashi Kang featuring the setting full hunter's moon. Merriam printed his images on handmade paper from the Himalayas, in five colors that evoke the ubiquitous Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags found throughout the region. The flags, known as Lung Ta (wind horse) or Lung P'ar (wind pictures), symbolize the five natural elements as well as the five pure lights of Tibetan Buddhism, which are the manifested aspects of Rigpa (primordial knowledge). Here, his depiction of the mountaintops alludes to the apex of enlightenment, as he creates his own “wind pictures,” symbolic of his personal quest for the light of knowledge.

DIMENSIONS

19 x 13 inches each

FRAMED DIMENSIONS

Floated: 25 x 79 x 2 inches each

AUTHENTICATION

Signed by artist.

The work comes with a Certification of Authenticity signed and numbered by the Co-Founder of Tappan