Packed Wind Horse 1

In Bhutan, flags flutter in the breeze throughout the land. With sutra written on them, these 'sutra flags' are believed to spread the teachings of Buddha throughout the kingdom, carried on the wind. In this piece Kama Wangdi takes used, worn out sutra flags, a type called Lungta (directly translated as 'horse of the wind'), and crumpled up, positions them much like a stone wall. In this way the artist treats traditional materials with contemporary methods. Bhutan has been late to adopt a telephone or electronic information network. Up until the 1990s the stream of information coming in from abroad was weak, and information relating to contemporary art extremely rare. At a time when public bodies were only concerned with traditional art, after studying abroad in the UK in 1998, he organized the Voluntary Artists' Studio, Thimphu (VAST). The studio energetically holds events as opportunities for children and young people to get close to art, nurture future talent, and at the same time, search for a role or meaning for art in contemporary Bhutan. This work is an example of an experimental piece exploring new possibilities for Bhutanese art.