《Painting the Unseen》「描繪未見之物」是一項由美國喬治亞大學「整合保育與文化人類學」博士 David M. Hecht 與不丹當代藝術家 Gyempo Wangchuk 攜手合作的跨界專案，將「藝術」、「傳統知識」與「生態科學」進行了深度揉合。隨著現代化的腳步，不丹隱藏於口述傳統與在地信仰中的環境知識，正面臨被忽視與遺忘的風險。面對此一現況，本專案期盼透過藝術的轉譯，將棲息於森林、懸崖、湖泊與泉水間的無形「領地保護神」重新帶回大眾視野，喚醒地方傳統對自然生態的神聖敬畏。
Painting the Unseen is a cross-disciplinary project co-created by David M. Hecht—who holds a PhD in Integrative Conservation and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Georgia—and contemporary Bhutanese artist Gyempo Wangchuk. The project profoundly intertwines art, traditional knowledge, and ecological science. As modernization rapidly advances, Bhutan’s environmental knowledge, deeply embedded in oral traditions and local beliefs, faces the risk of being marginalized and forgotten. In response, this project utilizes artistic translation to bring the invisible territorial deities—who inhabit forests, cliffs, lakes, and springs—back into the public eye, aiming to reawaken the traditional, sacred reverence for the natural environment.
在 Gyempo 創作的「反地圖」（Countermaps）系列畫作中，那些西方科學地圖與經緯座標所無法捕捉、深植於不丹土地的豐富精神維度與神聖場域，再次生動地躍然紙上。他汲取深厚的傳統唐卡（thangkha）、壁畫（ldebs ris）底蘊與喜馬拉雅宇宙觀，結合突破傳統的當代視覺語彙，以極具張力的筆觸，細膩勾勒出「保護神、人類社群與自然生態」三者間錯綜複雜的共生關係，讓畫作成為保存不丹無形文化與傳統環境知識的重要載體，更成功將傳統宗教圖像，轉化為當代探討生態保育與文化永續的有力媒介。
In Gyempo’s “Countermaps” series of paintings, the rich spiritual dimensions and sacred realms deeply rooted in the Bhutanese landscape—elements that Western scientific maps and geographic coordinates fail to capture—are vividly brought to life. Drawing upon a profound mastery of traditional thangkha and mural (ldebs ris) techniques alongside Himalayan cosmology, Gyempo integrates boundary-pushing contemporary visual language. Through highly expressive brushwork, he delicately portrays the intricate, symbiotic relationship among protective deities, human communities, and the natural ecosystem. Ultimately, these artworks serve as vital vessels for preserving Bhutan’s intangible culture and traditional ecological knowledge, successfully transforming classic religious imagery into a powerful medium for contemporary dialogues on environmental conservation and cultural sustainability.
Reference: https://terralingua.org/stories/painting-the-unseen/