Skippers (Bubblegum), 2019–20;
acrylic and ink on canvas 布面油畫和水墨;
183 x 122 cm (72 x 48 in)
《賦能精靈》將展出西藏藝術家Tsherin Sherpa（生於1968 年，加德滿都）的新作。展覽借用藏傳佛教中“神靈/精靈”的概念，展出一組色彩強烈的當代詮釋。這將是藝術家在Rossi & Rossi 的第四次個展。正如藝術史學家Katherine Burnett 在名為《Of Icons and Elvises: ‘Tibetan Spirit’ in Tsherin Sherpa’s New Art》一文中指出，“神靈/精靈”是一個具備多層含義的名詞。在喜馬拉雅文化中，這一指代通常和神聖相關，而在西方文化中，其譯文'spirit'又可以用來指代酒精、汽油和煤油。Spirit 一詞的多元指代拓寬了藝術家的創作思路，Sherpa將這一所指的形式和主題進行了再創作。
Sherpa 生長於尼泊爾的加德滿都，自幼同父親，尼泊爾的唐卡大師Urgen Dorje Sherpa，修習傳統繪畫。唐卡自古以來作為冥想的工具，通過繪製佛教諸神和宗教傳說來輔助教徒修行。1998 年，Sherpa 移居美國加州，開始接觸西方當代藝術的影響。自此開始，Sherpa 將他的創作從最嚴苛的唐卡規則中解放出來，融匯交織西方流行文化中的各種符號和藏傳佛教中的傳統元素。
Sherpa 在訪談中說道，“我很好奇某一文化或傳統中的精華是如何在同周圍環境融合的同時，得以保存、流傳和共享。在新作《Skippers (Bubblegum)》 (2019–20)中，Sherpa 完全擺脫了歷史和圖像學上的特定關聯，他將世俗和神聖，歷史和當代的表達繪製在一幅金色背景的畫布上，呈現出類似拜占庭壁畫的效果。
喜馬拉雅地區的人口在歷史遷移中散落在世界各地，Sherpa 作為這其中的一員，目睹著自己根文化的轉變。他刻意地讓自己的創作不屬於任何文化，而是將藝術作為媒介，讓觀眾去思考過渡、變化和移居異鄉的意義。Sherpa 借用了一蝴蝶的名稱 –– 虎斑蝶，來命名其中的一件作品《Tiger Milkweed》(2019–20)，正是折射出藝術家本人對作為遊牧民族習以為常的不確定性的探討。
Sherpa 所畫的不僅僅是神靈，而是兼備佛教屬性的精靈。正如作品《The Skywalker》（2020），Sherpa 時而會把正統的神像圖，連同其身上的法器和裝束，徹底轉
變成一撮斑斕的抽象創作。但是細看之下，神像的四肢、頭頸、身上的珠寶和身後的火焰都能夠分辨出來。“因為我在佛教的教導中長大，所以我明白形式不是最終目的，最重要的是你如何看待解讀形式”。
Spirits Empowered presents recent works by celebrated Tibetan artist Tsherin Sherpa (b. 1968, Kathmandu). These vibrant canvases elaborate on the concept of the ‘spirit’, an expression borrowed from Tibetan Buddhist imagery. This is his fourth solo show with Rossi & Rossi. ‘Spirit’, as art historian Katharine Burnett points out in her catalogue essay ‘Of Icons and Elvises: “Tibetan Spirit” in Tsherin Sherpa’s New Art’, which accompanied Sherpa’s 2012 solo show at the gallery, is a term layered with meanings. In the Himalayan context, it invokes sanctity; whilst in Western culture, it can refer to an alcoholic drink, petrol or paraffin. The diverse array of options for what a
spirit can be opens Sherpa’s image-making to multiple possibilities of engagement with and reimagination of both form and subject matter.
Growing up in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sherpa was first trained in traditional Tibetan thangka painting by his father, Master Urgen Dorje Sherpa. Vehicles for contemplation, these works are meant to assist practitioners in meditation through visualising Buddhist deities and religious narratives.On the other end of the spectrum, contemporary Western art and artists came under the artist’s radar in 1998, when he first moved to California. There, visuals from Occidental pop culture butted heads with classical Buddhist iconography, a clash that liberated Sherpa’s creative process from its constricting formal principles. As a result, he began to integrate influences from both conventions.
‘I’m curious how a unique essence can be maintained, celebrated and shared whilst also integrating the benefits found within the surroundings of a new environment’, the artist explains. Such inquiry is evident in Skippers (Bubblegum) (2019–20), which is completely free from association with any particular historical or iconographic connotation. The juxtaposition of the secular and the sacred, the past and the contemporary, all against a golden background, resembles an unworldly realm akin to that found in Byzantine icons and frescoes.
A member of the Himalayan diaspora, Sherpa closely observes the preservation and transformation of a scattered heritage. His works intentionally do not belong to any culture, instead suggesting an invitation to reflect on the ideas of flux, transition and (dis)placement. Tiger Milkweed (2019–20) borrows its name from the eponymous butterfly, which reveals Sherpa’s fascination with impermanence as well as the constant state of flux familiar to nomadic people.
What Sherpa paints is not a deity, but a spirit with Buddhist precepts. In Skywalker (2020), he transforms the orthodox rendition of a god, along with his attire and attributes, into a swirl of paint. Close inspection shows altered states of the heads, limbs, jewellery and flames. The work’s graphic quality is a result of digital manipulation that the artist often employs to distort the defined features of a holy being into a nebulous spirit. ‘Because I experienced Buddhist teachings when I was growing up, I know that form is not the ultimate goal’, notes Sherpa. ‘How one looks at the form is more important’.
賦能精靈 Spirits Empowered ｜ Tsherin Sherpa
Rossi & Rossi
展覽日期：2021年3月06日至4月24日
Exhibition Date: 06.03 - 24.04.2021
開放時間：上午十一時至下午六時（星期二至六）
Opening Hours: 11:00 - 18:00 (Tuesday- Saturday)
地址： 黃竹坑業發街6號益年工業大廈3C
Address: 3C Yally Industrial Building, 6 Yip Fat Street, Wong Chuk Hang
(852) 3575 9417
http://rossirossi.com