prayer flags (for peace)
An installation by artist Vennila nr KainTo mark the third anniversary of the official declaration of the War on Iraq, artist Vennila nr Kain sets up her prayer flags (for peace) in Times Square.
The installation is a delicate network of crisscrossed prayer flags similar to the Tibetan prayers flags strung over sacred spaces. The wind carries up the prayers from the flags to the realm of gods, or as blessings over land.
In this case, the artist uses weathered images of fallen soldiers as her prayer flags so that their lives (and death) may bring about the possibility of peace over land. Spread amidst the prayer flags of images of dead soldiers are four numerals corresponding to the current American death toll in Iraq.
The floor is littered with shredded pure white paper symbolizing the silent and unknown numbers of Iraqi men, women & children and other incidental human cost of war such as contractors and security guards, many of whom are hired from third world nations of this world.
The entire process of the installation, from conception to preparation to execution is done very much with the lineage of prayer flags and the war dead in mind, and hence in a prayerful, pacifist, mindful, meditative manner while softly chanting for healing and peace.
The artist chooses not to comment on the alternate political interpretation of the installation what with her use of clothespins and strings (clotheslines?) that the soldiers have been 'hung out to dry'.
The Phrase Finder obligingly offers this explanation, "If you are left hanging (the most innocuous case), it means that your status or your question is left unresolved, you're possibly in a state of suspense. If you are left hung out to dry, mama has put you on the clothesline with no indication when, if ever, you are going to be taken down. You are in an exposed position, "blowing in the wind," often in the role of a sacrificial goat."
This window installation is part of the ongoing series of ‘being peace’ art created by the artist Vennila nr Kain. The series began with the living art installation "Send A Salami To Your Boy In The Army" incorporating aspects of ritual fasting, mourning & meditation for two weeks in January 2004.
Vennila nr Kain is an actor, poet, yogini, performance artist, humbly committed to the Gandhian philosophy of being the change she wants to see in the world. She may be found at www.vennila.net
Date: March 15-24, 2006
Location: chashama
112 W. 44th Street, NY, NY
Installation: March 15-17, 2006, 5-7pm
Reception: March 17, 2006, 7-9pm