Turning the Wheel: a travel game – Cynthia Moku https://cynthiamoku.com Art & Print Gallery Thu, 21 Mar 2024 16:08:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://cynthiamoku.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-mokulogo4-32x32.png Turning the Wheel: a travel game – Cynthia Moku https://cynthiamoku.com 32 32 phase iii: Pax & Celeritas https://cynthiamoku.com/phase-iii-pax-celeritas/ Tue, 21 Nov 2023 22:11:30 +0000 https://cynthiamoku.brownrice.com/?p=1065 black laquer wood frame
gouache and acrylic
on primed board]]>

Known as the meditation mudra, this gently reflexive gesture symbolizes purity and equality. All the ‘Turning’ mudras hold at their core this meaning. Communicating through gesture a seamless awareness and inherent sensibility. Such a fine- tuning of the heart-mind continuum reveals an eternal primordial current of universal love. Peace & Swiftness without obstacle. Thus, the meditation mudra is painted at the top quadrant of this ‘phase iiiʻ of the Turning artworks.

]]> phase ii: Of Gestures and Games   https://cynthiamoku.com/phase-ii-of-gestures-and-games/ Tue, 21 Nov 2023 21:52:48 +0000 https://cynthiamoku.brownrice.com/?p=1025 35 painted 9×9” panels, gouache on paper
chalk on wood board with gold foil canopy]]>

Years later, Phase II took shape, as a further exploration into the nature of groups and of people engaged in playing a game together. The emphasis became playing for the love of the activity itself. The being circles that had initially inspired me, moved into metaphor as the encircling of the game by its players.The 35 square paintings now illustrate the four main facets of the Turning the Wheel mudra: Touching (presence), Tending (caring), Training (discipline), Taming (confidence). All are distinct and esteemed gestures of enlightenment. A reflective gold foil canopy, suspended high above the Turning game board, mirrors the painted mudra panels and reflects the game being played.  Making gestures and playing games, these dual marks of human communication, now cover the Turning the Wheel artpiece. Turning, in its elaboration, has become more diverse

touching • tending • training • taming
]]> phase i: The Pure Colours of Our Relations https://cynthiamoku.com/phase-i-the-pure-colours-of-our-relations/ Tue, 21 Nov 2023 20:45:45 +0000 https://cynthiamoku.brownrice.com/?p=943 35 painted 9”x9” panels, gouache on paper]]>

This series developed into a three-phase platform for group performances. It begins with Phase I, The Colours of Our Relations. During one academic semester, while I was faculty and chairperson of the Visual Art Department at Naropa University, I painted 35 square panels, each showing the gesture of Turning the Wheel of Dharma, the teaching mudra.

Each panel was painted as a reflection of the ambiance created while engaging with students in the ‘being (presence) circles’. At the end of the semester, the work was presented as a group generated spontaneous arrangement. In its final form this art piece is a sliding-panel puzzle, with 35 squares which can be moved by hand in over a thousand variations. The 36th square remains always empty.

Over a span of 20 years, I returned to this puzzle board format twice. Phase II, Of Gestures and Games, developed and was exhibited and ‘played’ within several public performances. It highlighted the four seminal hand ‘turnings’ which I named; Touching, Tending, Training & Taming.

Years later, this series became complete with painting the colours and mudras of Phase III, Pax & Celeritas. With this painting, the Training hand gesture —the meditation mudra— became the central gesture at the top of the game board. Peace and swiftness.

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