STAINLESS STEEL | 2025 | H318 x L260 x W160 cm
This sculpture was inspired by my time in the ceramic village of Bát Tràng, North of Vietnam, where I discovered that an empty vase on a family altar symbolizes emptiness — a profound concept in Buddhism.
Struck by how simply and beautifully a profound idea can be visually expressed, I cut the vase in half to show its emptiness. Upon seeing that it resembles a human torso, I created a base to make it look like a person in a lotus meditation pose.
Then, I added five more beads to the base, like the prayer beads used by monks in their daily meditation practice. They could also represent the five elements of the East: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.
Later on, in Biên Hòa, Sài Gòn, I hollowed out the top part to further emphasize emptiness and allow space to move freely. I continued developing the piece in California, where I created the bronze Buddha — a hollowed-out version polished to a mirror finish, in which one can see their own reflection.
In 2024, I presented a new version of the Buddha.
The Buddha now was cut into vertical layers to create a spectacular effect of Emptiness. When viewers look straight at it, it becomes transparent. The Buddha seems to disappear, merging one with the environment. One can see through the Buddha to the clouds, sky, people and buildings behind.
The base of the Buddha now forms a hollow dome within. I envisioned it to be large enough to sit on a lake, where visitors could kayak through the layers to the dome beneath — marveling at its majestic beauty while and floating in great music and light performance underneath that dome structure. I also believe it will become an iconic architectural landmark of Asia.
The sculpture might be called Buddha, but the name is just a pointer, it points to a state of mind that is free, a state where one is Happy and at Peace with oneself and thus the world around one.
