Issue 4 (Jan 2025)
Buddhist Art Meditations
(BAM) Journal
Better late than never
BAM Journal Issue 4 (2023-2025)
BAM is an online journal aimed at exchanging ideas on connecting creative and Buddhist practices. We had the privilege to consider the submissions responding to the open call for creative interpretations of “Buddhist Art”. For this issue, we considered and included works from previous submissions as well.
Like before, we tried to do something different again for this issue. This time, we sought out other contributors, so that we could include more voices. Besides curating the artworks, we also broadened our content range to include topics relevant to Buddhist artists and or artistic Buddhists. This time, our articles range from personal accounts from fellow Buddhist artists, from introduction to agarwood to various Buddhist art exhibitions.
Our issue is late for we had required more time to gather our approach, thoughts, and ultimately content. Perhaps, we were also more caring for and confident in each other, allowing ourselves to take the time we needed. Putting the issue together was delayed also by… well, other priorities from other aspects of our lives.
It is perhaps coincidental or serendipitous that several of our articles were convergent with this topic of creative-life-work-balance - that is, the balancing of portioning our lives between creativity and other work and priorities and struggles. That artists and all modern people face, driven by our craving for pursuits and various versions of suffering that make up too much of life as human beings.
Nevertheless, we can hope that the endeavours are not all in vain... That with our endeavours, we learn something. That there is progress.
At least with BAM, we are happy to be able to present a wide selection of articles in this issue. And we can be grateful for the patience and understanding of all artists’ and contributors’. And we can appreciate that we managed to finish “better late than never”. And although we had dreamt for this zine to grow and become a regular accompaniment to your creative and Buddhist practices. We now learn not to call for new submissions with the launch of this issue, nor commit to delivering another issue… but that it will happen, if it happens, in due time… “better late than never”.
As with life, progress is learning that we can only proceed as fast as we can manage to in our paces. Progress is also changing our dreams and aspirations with new perspectives and experiences. Progress is also letting go, especially for Buddhists, hoping to learn something meaningful for our progress towards liberation from suffering.
Thank you to all the contributors and thank you to the readers. We hope you will find the articles thought-provoking and helpful.
♥
The Coordinators of BAM
Jan 2025
Contributors
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Teck Ee, who holds a Bachelor Degree in Architecture and a Master in Social Sciences, has been participating in local and overseas exhibitions organised by the Singapore Art Society, Modern Art Society, and other corporate organisations. His works received awards, certificates of distinction and highly commendations such as UOB Painting of the Year, Philippe Charriol Foundation Contemporary Art Competition, Phillip Morris Art Competition, Singapore Telecom Expression in Art Competition, Defence Art Competition and Dr Tan Tsze Chor Western Art Competition. His works are also among the collections of local Institutions and Corporations.
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I am agnostic buy I'm interested in various religions and philosophies, mainly de-colonial ones.
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“We live in a world where it is difficult to feel part of the whole, as we continue finding ways to connect to each other.” Skinner’s work gives expression to journeys through many cultures and the five elements: water, ether, earth, fire, and wind. Multidisciplinary, she embraces the elemental archetypes of the physical and cosmic worlds, their balance being imperative to our survival. With over 50 solo domestic and international exhibitions, Radius Books published her monograph 108. Recent solo exhibitions: Branigan at Las Cruces Museum of Art, Lightspace in the International Art Museum of America, San Francisco., and PIE Projects, Santa Fe. Public collections include; Seattle University, Seeds of Compassion; Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington; Tacoma Art Museum; Museum of Encaustic Art, Santa Fe; Museum of Northwest Art; Swedish Orthopedic Institute; Virginia Mason Medical Center; Seattle Children’s Hospital; the US Art in Embassy program, Tokyo and Papua New Guinea.
http://www.ceskinner.com/
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Cyril Wong is a poet and fictionist in Singapore.
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Frances Alleblas born 1971 in the Netherlands.
Frances Alleblas is a Dutch artist who’s been living in Singapore since 2002. She’s got a BA in fine arts from the ‘Willem de Kooning Fine Arts Academy’ in Rotterdam. She did part of her studies in Java at ITB Bandung and later on studied “Pacific Art” at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
Her work consists of drawings, printmaking, photography and video work.
Frances draws inspiration from personal experiences, nature, film, literature and philosophy.www.francesalleblas.com
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Heng Zhi Wen is the founder of aloeincense which is committed to delivering the traditional richness and benefits of Agarwood and its culture as well as exploring its potentials and applications to modern living.
Zhi Wen is also interested in music and art history.
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Jesse Maceo Vega Frey’s teaching aims to inspire the skills, determination, and faith necessary to realize the deepest human freedom. He is a student of Michele McDonald and his approach is rooted in the tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma. As a teacher of Vipassana (insight) meditation within the broader context of Theravadan Buddhism, his teaching encourages an exploration of the relationship between ethics, insight, and action. Perpetually intrigued by the dynamics between inner and outer change, Jesse is a writer of numerous essays and author of Insurgent Heart: A Vipassana Manual for the Guerrilla Yogi. He is a spoon carver who loves to teach people about how to work with their hands and explore the relationship between labor, ownership, and kamma. He is the resident teacher for Vipassana Hawai’i and teaches around the world.
Jesse was a co-founder of The Stone House, a center for spiritual life and social justice in Mebane, NC, was a long-time board member of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, and faculty member of the Center for Whole Communities. -
My name is Lim Yu Cheng, I am 11 years old. This is my painting of a scenery of lotuses in a pond at dawn. The water is undisturbed and there is a slight mist surrounding the pond. I enjoy the peace and calm feeling from this lotus pond scenery. I hope it will be helpful for anyone who needs a reminder to breathe deep and find stillness in our hectic life.
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I am a contemplative artist in that I make art as a meditation, for reflection, an act of kindness, as a prayer, and as a way of investigating and understanding my own nature and the nature of the cosmos. And just for the fun and joy of it! I am inter-spiritual and currently primarily attracted to Buddhism and Sharmanism but am open to receiving the jewels of all wisdom traditions. I'm particularly excited by Rob Burbea's soul making dharma but also have a number of carefully selected teachers, mentors and spiritual friends many of whom are from the Theravada tradition (eg Leigh Brasington, Spring Washam, Mark Coleman). I grew up with Jesus and was an Iyengar yogi for a decade. Cultivating the two wings of mindfulness and compassion to soar like a bird. Observing the rhythms of nature to understand intuitively the nature of our human minds and hearts. The fruits of spiritual life are ultimately intangible. But I can't tell you how much I love the tangible results of the practices that myself and others use to cultivate those essential, tasty morsels.
www.michelle-exhales.com
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Michael Moreth is a recovering Chicagoan living in the rural, micropolitan City of Sterling, the Paris of Northwest Illinois.
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Mikhail Kalinnikov (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 1993) is a contemporary Russian self-taught artist working in the field of graphics, painting, and photography.
Mikhail has been participating in group exhibitions since 2019 from Greece, China and Russia.
2019 - participant of "Surprise X", Greece.
2021 - participant of the online exhibition “Summertime” HelvetArt, Switzerland.
2023 - finalist of Art Revolution Taipei 2023, Taiwan.
2023 - finalist of the online competition “From Winter to Spring” Artnagrad / CITYCELEBRITY.
2023 participant of the exhibition “Grounding”, St. Petersburg.
2019-2023 - participant of online exhibitions in Russia.
2023 - participant in the online portfolio review from Moscow Exhibition Halls.
Publications:
2023 - “Art Agent” magazine, 12th issue, 22-23 pages.https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002017562653
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We have a Sangha in California, Portland, and Britain.
www.skuja-braden.com
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Tai Han Min is a semi-retired dental surgeon. He is interested in the journey of life in this present existence.
By seeking the path in Buddhism for many years, he has evolved his view of life through the middle way.
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Shuxia was brought up in a Tibetan Buddhist family. While she was influenced by Buddhism, she didn’t study or practiced it in earnest. In her twenties she began reading up on non-violent resistance for her studies in community arts and came upon Satish Kumar’s book “You Are, Therefore I Am: A Declaration of Dependence” and Thich Naht Hanh’s “Love In Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change”. From then on, she became more interested in Buddhist philosophy and tries to meditate more often.
www.tshuxia.com
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Zen Teh is an artist and educator interested in the interdisciplinary studies of nature and human behavior. Her art practice spans across photography, sculpture and installation art. Teh initiated numerous collaborative projects with artists, art professionals and scientists over the years.
Coordinators
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Jennifer Teo is a cultural worker who works primarily as an artist and curator. She considers herself a global citizen, and enjoys living and working in multiple cities around the world. She has a wide interest in socio-cultural issues, particularly those related to care, climate, community, feminism, food, knowledge, and spirituality.
She grew up in a Mahayana Buddhist family, but didn’t take it seriously until 2019 when she took the Chenrezig Initiation by HH the Dalai Lama.
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I came into the arts in search of a better way to live and consider my endeavours as part of my research process.
Lately I have been focusing more on Buddhism and mindsets and lifestyles than traditional forms of art.
I go by different names but usually meekfreak / Lee Ju-Lyn.
https://meekfreak.com
https://www.instagram.com/meekfreak
https://www.facebook.com/meekfreak
Yes, I am Buddhist, inclining towards Theravada Thai Forest tradition. -
Ong Xiao Yun is an artist based in Singapore, trained in both Fine Arts and Buddhist Studies. She is the cofounder of Artists Caravan, an arts collective in Singapore.
http://ongxiaoyun.com
https://www.instagram.com/ong.xiaoyun/
She is a Buddhist and has volunteered with different Buddhist organisations in Singapore. She loves and treasures pilgrim trips and time spend with her kalyanamitta. -
T. Shuxia or Tai Shuxia is a Singaporean artist and illustrator. She works with various mediums and is presently exploring storytelling through art. Prior to embarking on a new career in art and illustration, she did research in art education at NIE, NTU and was a manager for her family’s dental business. Shuxia has a multidisciplinary background in cultural studies, community arts and graphic design.
https://www.instagram.com/t.shuxia/
Shuxia was brought up in a Tibetan Buddhist family. While she was influenced by Buddhism, she didn’t study or practiced it in earnest. In her twenties she began reading up on non-violent resistance for her studies in community arts and came upon Satish Kumar’s book “You Are, Therefore I Am: A Declaration of Dependence” and Thich Naht Hanh’s “Love In Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change”. From then on, she became more interested in Buddhist philosophy and tries to meditate more often.