‘
Rise Unto The Lord’ is a photograph from my body of work, ‘Fortifying
Bonds Beyond Time and Measure’ produced in 2017. This is a photograph of central tower placed at the heart of the Angkor Wat temple
complex. This central tower can be entered by way of a steep staircase
and has a statue of Lord Vishnu at top. This tower "was at once the
symbolic center of the nation and the actual center where secular and sacred
power joined forces," writes researcher Eleanor Mannikka in the book,
"Angkor: Celestial Temples and Khmer Empire".
"In the central sanctuary, Vishnu is not only placed at the latitude of
Angkor Wat, he is also placed along the axis of the earth," Mannikka writes,
pointing out that the Khmer knew the Earth was round.
The photo reveal the soul of the structures and the impact of the
passage of time and experience have witnessed empires grow and fall. I have
tried to present the true nature of the structure, not only how it looks but
also how it feels to be in its presence. I have tried to create a sense of
interaction between the elements of foreground and background with the static heaviness
from the stone structures and the dynamism of the rising sun and skies. Also,
with the play of colors and the three-dimensional and two-dimensional elements,
I attempt to create a composition that is both abstract and realistic. The resulting image is both an external and
internal reality.
Temples of
Angkor Wat are supreme architectural achievement of the civilization of Angkor.
The Holy City of Angkor was abandoned in 1400 AD. and consumed by jungles when the first
Portuguese missionary passed in wonder through its gates.
Spanish Monk, Marcello de Ribadeneyra (1601) presumed that Kingdom of
Siam were ruins of a city built by Alexander the Great or Romans. He writes
that it is inhabited by ferocious animals, and local people say it is built by
foreigners. Standing tall for centuries, the city of Angkor and its
extraordinary temples were alien to its own people. It’s glorious past was all
lost in 150 years of abandonment and alienation by its subjects.
In reality,
the western scholars were also alien to the religion, the environment, the
people- virtually all aspects of its life and culture.
Looking at
the temples made by the Khmer Dynasty we question ourselves:
‘Are we really developed or civilized as compared
to the city of a million that existed 700 years ago?’
Or
‘Does our up-to-date warfare strategy make us more
modern or civilized?’
Or
‘Are we really justified in saying that the ‘Lost
Kingdom of Khmer Dynasty’, a marvel of the world was waiting to be discovered,
looted and then restored?’
Through a
century of colonial rule, and agony of Khmer rule, the civilization of Angkor
continues to unify and inspire not just Khmer, but foreigners alike.
