Nechung Monastery Door; Limited edition archival, museum-quality photograph; 20.9 x 28.7 inch birch frame with ph neutral mat

Limited edition (#12 of 108), archival-quality, framed photograph of architectural detail from a doorway at Nechung Monastery, located a few miles outside of Lhasa, Tibet.  The photo is by London photographer Claire Pullinger, from the upcoming book by Louise Light, Opening the Eye of the Buddha: The Life & Work of Tinley Chojor, Master of Tibetan Architectural Painting & Decorative Arts (KTD Publications 2012) and is  part of an inaugural collection of photos currently exhibited at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra in Woodstock, NY.  

THE ARTIST: The murals and architectural detail shown in the photo was painted by Tinley Chojor (1937-2008), a seventh-generation lineage holder in the eri artistic style of Central Tibet and among the most important architectural and decorative painters of his time. This unique lineage dates from the 1650s, the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama, when Tinley's ancestors were recruited from their village to go to Lhasa to assist with the building of the Potala Palace. The scope of Tinley’s lifetime of work is formidable, spanning more than six decades across four countries (Tibet, Nepal, India and the U.S.) and encompassing all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as cultural institutions within the Tibetan community-in-exile and the western community of Buddhists.  His personal story is similarly dramatic, paralleling the experience of the Tibetan people in free Tibet, through invasion and occupation, and eventually in exile. 

NECHUNG MONASTERY AND THE STORY BEHIND THIS PHOTOGRAPH:  As a young man, Tinley was a monk at Nechung Monastery, Seat of the State Oracle of Tibet and an institution with a very special place in the history and culture of the Tibetan people. The Nechung Oracle is the chief protector of the Tibetan Government, responsible for peace and harmony on earth, and the monastery in Tibet displayed unique murals, colors and architectural attributes which are typical of wrathful, protector activities associated with this location and which are beautifully captured in this doorway photograph.

At Nechung, Tinley was appointed the resident artist, dividing his time between practice, study and painting at this ancient institution. After 6 years as a monk, Tinley returned to lay-life and continued painting extensively throughout Tibet.  However, the trajectory of a promising artistic career was crushed in 1959, when the “peaceful liberation” of Tibet by the Chinese evolved into a program of systematic destruction that identified the artist class as enemies of the people. Tinley spent many of the next 20 years on forced labor “assignments,” suffering tragic personal loss of family, friends, and property similar to that of most of the Tibetan nation.

After 1979, the political situation changed and the occupying authorities put Tinley (who was now one of a few qualified artists surviving in the country) in charge of the restoration of the Jokhang where statues were broken, paintings obliterated and wood rotten from exposure to rain and snow. Later he joined similar efforts at the Potala, Ganden, Drepung and Sera Monasteries and then at Nechung, where cows and sheep were in the courtyard and destitute homeless people were sleeping on the broken floors. For over a year, Tinley acted as lead artist in restoring and repainting Nechung, the monastery of his youth, drawing upon his memories to recreate much of what is seen by the visitor to Tibet today and would otherwise be lost forever. Most of this work was only unofficially sanctioned by the authorities, and was undertaken at great personal risk by the artists and by local people who spontaneously arrived to offer brushes, paints, food, and unskilled labor. 

This doorway photograph depicts only a small part of the legacy of this remarkable painter, who instructed the photographer on her assignments in Tibet, reviewed the images, and provided personal and artistic commentary in oral history interviews prior to his death in New York in 2008.  Please visit www.louiselight.net for more on this artistic tradition and the forthcoming book.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER:  London photographer Claire Pullinger is best known for her work in Asia where she has spent much of the past 15 years documenting the traditions and lives of the Tibetan Buddhist and Himalayan Community. She has worked to support local and exiled groups and has been involved in projects resulting in the construction of monasteries, nunneries and schools throughout the foothill region of Northern India and has contributed many images to magazines and book publications  and exhibitions worldwide.  Please visit  www.clairepullinger.com/wp2 for more.