PRAYER FLAGS, High Himalayas

Triptych, Oil on canvas
210 x 50 cm  – 82.7 x 19.7 inches

Always moved by this centuries-old custom of colourful prayer flags to “spread the good will and compassion into all” against the grandeur of the high Himalayas. This is a conceptual painting. It was inspired by our travels over several years to high mountain passes of over 13,000 feet and the unfolding vistas.  Tied to strings and left to blow in the freezing winds, the flags are printed with prayers on traditional colours. Constantly added to by pilgrims, old strings are left to fade and lie in drifts. In Tibet, old prayer flags are replaced with new ones annually on the Tibetan New Year.  Almost a metaphor for human lives, perhaps (?) both the fragility and resilience of humankind against an implacable backdrop