丹之寶代理之藝術家Asha Kama Wangdi，不丹當代藝術的引領者，通過他自己的藝術作品，繼續在全球當代藝術界中展現不丹的獨特文化。這段影片是由美國紐約魯賓藝術博物館（Rubin Museum of Art）發佈的採訪，探討Asha Kama Wangdi為魯賓博物館20週年展覽「Reimagine: Himalayan Art Now」創作的裝置藝術作品Lungta 〈風馬〉。
Lungta 〈風馬〉從博物館的圓頂自六樓懸掛而下，佔據了螺旋樓梯的整個垂直空間，在各樓層的視線內。這件壯觀的作品是以現成物組成，是藝術家與其團隊在不丹找到的祈禱旗而製成。這些祈禱旗被連接在一起，形成了長長的祈禱串，也用來製作從祈禱旗瀑布般中浮現的風馬。Lungta，或稱風馬，是不丹文化中象徵積極能量的吉祥符號，亦是Asha Kama作品的核心隱喻。他邀請觀眾反思每個人內在的善良和祈禱及願望的傳達力量。
祈禱旗的五種顏色象徵五行顏色，這些顏色在藏傳佛教中與五種應平衡的心態相對應：黃（智慧，地），紅（慈悲，火），綠（平靜，水），白（純潔，空氣），和藍（忍耐，空間）。祈禱旗在不丹隨處可見。據信，風吹動這些旗幟會將上面的經文送往高處並傳播到宇宙中，因此這些旗幟通常被放置在高地上。然而，這一傳統也成為了一個環境問題。過多的廢棄祈禱旗造成了山頂如被垃圾覆蓋的景象，這些祈禱旗也被風刮至樹木上，與其纏繞，對樹木的生態造成問題。
Asha Kama的作品除了傳播正面能量之外，也警醒世人過度需求的後果，引起人們對這些不可分解的祈禱旗，過度懸掛所帶來的環境問題的關注。在收集祈禱旗的過程中，他和他的團隊也清理了被纏繞的灌木叢。他找到的祈禱旗中，有些已經相當褪色和破損，這些被用來製作風馬的內部，回收再利用以創造藝術。外觀較新的則用於祈禱旗的外部和垂吊的部分。Asha Kama與他的VAST團隊（藝術家在不丹建立的藝術教育團體）將風馬以全新的樣貌帶到國外，讓更多人見證祈禱的溫暖能量。
Asha Kama：“我們每個人內心都有一些善，祈禱幫助我們釋放這種能量。我盡力釋放被困在我們內心的能量。風馬象徵著這種能量。”
在Asha Kama的領導下，他和他的團隊花了兩周時間實現了這個非凡的願景。這個願景在Asha Kama的腦海中存在了30到35年，現在終於實現。優美地佇立在博物館的中心，Lungta 〈風馬〉以不丹文化之物連成一片片的祈願，向觀眾散發正面能量，亦是環境意識的提醒，更為世界增加了一些善意。
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Tansbao’s representing artist Asha Kama Wangdi, the torchbearer of contemporary art in Bhutan, continues to foster a uniquely Bhutanese voice in the global contemporary art scene through his own art. This video is an interview published by Rubin Museum of Art, exploring Asha Kama Wangdi’s installation art Lungta (The Wind Horse) created for Rubin Museum’s 20th anniversary exhibition “Reimagine: Himalayan Art Now.”
Hanging down from the museum’s oculus on the sixth floor, occupying the whole vertical vacancy of the spiral staircase, and visible to everyone from every floor, this captivating masterpiece is made from found and discarded prayer flags in Bhutan. The flags are connected together to form long strings of prayers, and they are also used to fashion the wind horses emerging from the cascading prayer flags. The lungta, wind horse, is an auspicious symbol of positive energy in Bhutanese culture. It is the central metaphor in Asha Kama’s artwork. He invites viewers to reflect on the intrinsic goodness within each individual and the universal reach of prayers and aspirations. The five colours of the flags symbolise the five elemental colors, associated with the five states of mind that should be balanced according to Tantric Buddhism: Yellow (Wisdom, Earth), Red (Compassion, Fire), Green (Equanimity, Water), White (Purity, Air), and Blue (Endurance, Space). Prayer flags are ubiquitous in Bhutan. It is believed that the wind blowing the flags will carry the mantra on them high above and out into the universe, thus these flags are mostly placed on higher grounds.
However, this tradition has also become an environmental concern. Addressing the consequences of unchecked wants, Asha Kama’s work also directs awareness to the excessive hoisting of these non-degradable prayer flags, resulting in littered mountaintops and entangled trees. In the process of collecting prayer flags, he and his team also cleans up the tangled bushes of flags. Of the prayer flags he found, some were already quite discoloured and damaged. These, he used to create the insides of the wind horses, recycling them to create art. The newer-looking ones were then used for the exterior and the waterfall of prayer flags. Transforming the prayer flags into a brand new form, Asha Kama and his team take the wind horses abroad for more people to witness the warming energy of prayers, coming from Bhutan, from within the hearts of people.
“We all have some goodness in us, and the prayers help us to release that energy. I’m trying my best to free an energy that has been trapped within ourselves. The horse symbolises that energy.”
Under Asha Kama’s leadership, a dedicated team of five from VAST Bhutan (the art community he co-founded in Bhutan, dedicated to art education and exposure for the younger generations) spent two weeks bringing this extraordinary vision to life. A vision that has been in Asha Kama’s head for 30 to 35 years, and now finally realised. Reposed gracefully at the centre of the museum, Lungta (The Wind Horse), a positive symbol and reminder of environmental awareness made with pieces of Bhutanese culture, exudes positive energy to the viewers, adding a bit more good to the world’s energy.
Full Video 完整影片：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2U4KMRDe2A