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ConstantUncertainty The Zen Garden at Ryoan-ji, Kyoto Every morning, Zen Buddhistmonks would clean and rearrange the rock garden into what it has been for thepast 500 years. My first visit at Ryoan-ji temple was 10 years ago. Everyonehad to buy a ticket to enter the garden, in which did not present any performances,light show or music. There were only tourists taking photographs, meditating orcontemplating calmly at the rock garden. At the time, I was disappointed forhaving paid the entry fee without getting any entertainment in return because Idid not understand the aesthetics or simple beauty manifested in Zen gardens.However, after spending time in such place, the most prominent impressions Ihad were feelings of tranquility, clarity, and coolness. It is quite strangethat the atmosphere and images of this rock garden remain so vividly in mymemory. The Face Cleansing Ritual of Mahamuni Buddha, Mandalay I have never paid homage to the MahamuniBuddha image in Mandalay, Myanmar. However, there is a framed poster of this Buddhaimage in my house and it sparked my interest to study the history of this deityfigure. Myanmese Buddhists believe that Mahamuni Buddha image is in fact,alive, as Lord Buddha has bestowed to Him the breathe of life. Due to thisfaith, a ritual of face cleansing is carried out at around 4 o’clock of everymorning. A senior monk and the public would engage in the cleansing ritual,applying scented water and gold brush to clean the teeth of Mahamuni Buddha asif they are brushing the teeth of Lord Buddha Himself. A cloth offered bydevotees dries off the surface and a golden fan freshens the air. This ritualoccurs every morning for atleast the past 900 years. The Morning and EveningPrayers of Buddhist Monks I am interested in the morning and eveningprayers of monks. The chanting is exercised everyday in the same manner withthe same prayers. These prayers are in a language difficult to understand, butdaily practice will eventually lead one to have a soothed and calm mind. The Scale andVoid of Time Human has an average lifespan of70 years while the age of planet Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old.We are not capable of imagining the emptiness of the universe. This void oftime is scientifically coined as the pre-Big Bang state. Due to the limited timescale of human life, we learnt to livewith rapid changes. The awareness of these changes enables the acceptance ofthe truth that nothing is permanent and truly belonging to us. Human life istemporary. The greatest fears are of loss, separation and death, which are allnatural processes of life. My paintings are efforts torecord the changes in one living moment. I trace lines and paint not torepresent anything but the abstraction itself. No matter how hard I tried, Ifailed to enter the desired state of abstraction. Since I was preoccupied by myown desires, the abstraction of changes that I wished to capture was filledwith my own self, driven to create forms of lines, colors and volumes. Theseare all illustrations of changes fabricated by methods of paintings. The state of abstraction surpasses the confinements of self,excelling beyond logic (thoughts). The practice of painting does not allow oneto enter this state. However, the gesture of time spent in the creation processof painting does express the commitment without having to materialise theaction, finally relating it to the abstract concept. This abstract concept isneutral and common, while meanings and symbols are conjured by the audience fromtheir own emotions and associations. I am pleased to present thebacks of some of my finished paintings. The back of a canvas that has neverbeen looked at before reveals marks of actions without the painter’s intentionand this is the abstract essence I want to capture. This painting series requiresthe audience to examine silence and emptiness in order to recognise theabstraction within the pieces. The only substance is the mark of time plottingendless changes. The beauty of change reflects what human has to face; realisingthis will liberate us from clinging illusions. We might, even for a moment, beable to escape from life sufferings.