Paintings

How Do You Mend the Moon?

24" x 30" | Oil on Canvas | 2024

“My Mother Dreams of Flying” portrays my mother in her youth, gracefully navigating a surreal dreamscape of mountains and clouds rendered in a traditional Tibetan style. For as long as I can remember, my mother has recounted to me her recurring dreams of flying. Some of my most cherished memories are of her impassioned narrations where she vividly conveyed the meditative sensation of flying through the sky. On one level, this painting is an ode to my mother’s dreams and the way they made her feel a sense of individual freedom. On another level, this painting embodies my mother's lifelong aspirations for collective freedom in Tibet – a political cause she has passionately advocated for since her youth. Wearing traditional Tibetan attire, she symbolizes the aspirations of Tibetan women at large, as they strive for liberation.

“Tibet’s Rivers” depicts a Tibetan woman in the foreground whose hair transforms into a river. The woman in the painting is fictitious – I created a composite face, based on images of numerous Tibetan women. The landscape is inspired by traditional Tibetan art motifs, rendering a vision of Tibet that is both constructed and supernatural. As a Tibetan born in exile who has never been to Tibet, my depiction of an imagined landscape alludes to the shared Tibetan experience of yearning for the homeland. The figure’s hair-to-river transformation highlights the unique and necessary interconnectedness of Tibetans and their environment. While Tibet’s rivers are dammed and Tibetan nomads are forcibly removed from their ancestral lands, this painting seeks to re-frame the situation inside Tibet, imagining a world in which Tibetan people are magically and harmoniously in control of their land again.