Working on PR Photos...

Today I and Gonkar have done some photos taken for my new PR ideas...shooting in the street back of his studio building, with some of his art works. Wish if I had a professional camera but the outcome of the photography was great! It will reveal its appearance when I get some coverages on suitable publications...off we go!

Another Visitor to the Studio...

MJ Hobby-Limon from the TAG Fine Arts

I and Gonkar absolutely love this combination of smartly dressed Hobby and the East End London background.

Hobby is from the TAG Fine Arts, whose organization Gonkar works very close with.

Here is the information on the organization from the website;

TAG provides an outlet for working artists to exhibit and sell their work: acting as a support network for its stable, TAG offers advice regarding commissions within the trade; a hub, it proposes alternative exhibiting opportunities and a forum for broader critical discussion about contemporary art.

The selection criteria for artists wishing to join TAG is based on the proviso that they are working in a creative capacity in an alternative arts environment. TAG exhibits artists who take an integrated approach to their work crossing traditional boundaries and engaging with other creative disciplines, such as architecture, graphic design and fashion.

In this way, TAG promotes the vital role which contemporary visual art plays within today’s multi-disciplinary approach to the arts, and aims to foster new relationships and opportunities for its artists both in the UK and abroad.

As you can see, TAG is a very exciting and progressive art organization for artists to work with!

Democratic Window to the "Art World"

On Monday Gonkar has been to the Royal Academy again to submit his art works early in the morning - and when he came out, look at the cue!!! It was so looooooooooooooooooong outside!!

At this point, participating artists for the Summer Show will be selected by the RA curators, looking at the actual art works of absolutely EVERYONE who is interested in taking a part, one by one. Professional, amature, or students - doesn't matter. It's such a democratic selection process to the window of the "art world."

Visitors to the Studio

Fabio from Rossi&Rossi

Fabio's assistant Mauro

Venice Biennial 2009 curator Savita Apte

Portrait and Interview: L'Uomo Vogue

I'm happy to announce that Gonkar Gyatso will now be featured in May/June issue of L'Uomo Vogue, men's version of fashion magazine Italian Vogue.

The issue will feature a selection of artists who will be exhibiting at the Venice Biennial 2009. And as other artists, Gonkar will be presented in a photography portrait in his studio, together with interview text on his page. The photo shoot and interview will be done by the middle of next month - looking forward to seeing published version of the issue lined up on book shop shelves!!

Interview Article Out Now

Gonkar's interview article on the Tower Hamlet's local newspaper East End Life is out now - and will be delivered to the home of people in the East End, London. As the artist wish to be a "people's artist" whose image and accessibility is down to the earth, we are very happy about the exposure in the local community. If you would like to know about the detail of the article, please feel free to get in touch.

Blue Horse on Reservation

At Gonkar's second studio room up stairs, his "blue horse" (his favourite, broken yet charming blue chair) is now semi-permanently reserved for no-one to sit down unless s/he knows how to handle (balance on) the horse for safety purpose.

The horse smiling at the camera with a twisted neck

I can't remember how many times I fell off from him while I was sitting there...

The master of the blue horse (Gonkar)

Upcoming Press Exposures...

This week at the Sweet Tea House, Gonkar had two photo shoots of himself for two upcoming press exposures; one for the N.Y. based Contemporary Visual Culture magazine Art Asia Pacific, and the other for the Tower Hamlet's local free newspaper East End Life. He will be featured as one of the hot topics in both of the publications, together with the news of attending Venice Biennale 2009. We are very happy that the news is going to be shared in the different levels and types of media - one in global & exclusice, and the other in local & inclusive.

Renovating the Web Sites

Last Wednesday, Gonkar and I had a meeting with a web designer Tim from Alpine Interactive. Why? To discuss and exchange ideas for up-coming web sites of Gonkar and his gallery, the Sweet Tea House. Tim is a very considerate, thoughtful, and professional designer who is full of ideas - it's very fascinating to witness and be part of the process of transforming something old into the new, with the hands of someone like him.

The web sites are under renovation, and are coming soon...!

*The place where we had the meeting is Saf Restaurant in Shoreditch, whose botanically focused menu is "London's first and finest."

* I would also like to thank Hana, an illustrator who is a very good friend of mine and is a wife of Tim, for introducing us to the fine works of Tim.

Gifts from Tibet...

Hmmm....white bags of gifts! It's March and spring is coming to London, but it seems that Mr.Santa has arrived to the Sweet Tea House again (though most of us are rather close to Buddhist culture,) HO HO HO. Well, they are actually not from Father Christmas - they are gifts that has been sent by Gonkar's friends in Tibet!!!

Insides are Barley Flour and Yack Meat.

Apparently, Barley Flour (photo below) is commonly used to make porrige in the morning (instead of oat.)


And the dried Yack Meat (photo below) - which I never ever had before - is common daily Tibetan staple eaten as a snack. As the yacks are grown freely in the wild land, they are organic too.

Although I normally do not eat meat, I was so curious and tempted to try....

So Gonkar picked up the softest one for me, and I did try it!

It still felt quite hard, and tastes very...WILD!! (i.e.taste of red meat, full of blood and energy.haha)

You would certainly maintian your teeth very healthy and strong too, if you grew up chewing this "snack" every day.

And having thought about the fact that elderly people in Tibet still go to Pilgrimage for two hours every morning (= walking on the MOUNTAIN for TWO HOURS EVERY MORNING), together with these diets, there's no wonder why they have a very long and strong lives in Tibet!

チベット現代アート：新しいアイデンティティーに向けて

現代アートブームにより注目を集める中国現代アート。そして北京オリンピック開催に伴い浮き彫りにされてきたチベット問題。この二つの狭間に存在しつつも今も尚充分に認識を得ていないアイデンティティーがある－1966年の文化大革命の時期に生まれ、毛沢東政府による反ダライ・ラマ教育の元で育ったチベット民族第二生の存在だ。

ゴンカー・ギェイツォはそんなチベット民族第二生の一人で、北京で現代アートを学んで以来自身の「チベット」と「中国」という二つの混在するアイデンティティーを題材に、ロンドンにて作品を作り続けている。４枚のセルフポートレイト写真から成るシリーズ作品”Life”では、文化大革命前・後・インド亡命・ロンドン移住と、移り変わりながらも重なり合う異なる文化に身を置くアーティストの多面的人物像が提示されている。

この作品は、伝統的なチベット仏教アートであるタンカや仏像を現代アートの素材として使って来た事により、自らが民族として属するはずのインドで亡命中のチベットコミュニティーからは”邪道”として批判を受けた、「チベット人」「中国人」のどちらでもなく同時にそのどちらでもあるというアーティスト自身のアイデンティティーの葛藤の象徴であり、その存在の認識を求める叫びであるもと言えるだろう。今、存在するのに見られていないアイデンティティー＝主体性が、複数の主体により単数の存在となるという新しいアイデンティティーの生産と認識への可能性を求めているのである。

(※この画像はアーティスト本人のホームページから非コマーシャル目的でリンクしているものであり、コピーライトはアーティスト本人に属する。)

Contemporary Tibetan Art; Towards the New Identity

Contemporary Chinese Art has been cerebrated in the midst of Contemporary Art boom. Political problem of Tibet has been brought into daylight accompanied by the opening of Beijing Olympic. In between these two, there is still an unknown identity that has been struggling into the light of recognition – it is the existence of the Tibetans who were born and taught under the Maoist Chinese government of post-1966 Cultural Revolution.

Gonkar Gyatso is one of these Tibetans; he has been making art works in London on the subject of his dual identity of “Tibet” and “China”, ever since he has learnt Contemporary Art in Beijing. The serial photography work “Life” consists of four self-portraits of the artist himself, each of which presenting him in different yet crossing over cultures – pre-Cultural Revolution, post-Cultural Revolution, exile in India, and immigration in London – representing the multiple-figure of the artist.

It could be argued that this work symbolises the identity dilemma of the artist, whose works were influenced by the traditional Tibetan Buddhist Arts yet criticised by the exile community of Tibet in India as being “improper” to the sacred art; i.e., being rejected from the community where his ethnic origin resides, the figure of the artist has been simultaneously split and integrated between “Tibetan” and “Chinese,” calling for the recognition of its unique existence. The unrecognised minority existence of an identity = subjectivity is demanding the possibility of creation and recognition of a new singular identity that consists of plural subjectivities.

(*The image has been retrieved from the artist's own web site for non-commercial purposes, and its copyright belongs to the artist himself.)

(*A modified version of this article has been published in "invisible man / paper" at G/P Gallery in Tokyo and Institute of Contemporary Art bookshop in London.)