Here a young monk waits offstage with a masked dancer during the 2014 Thimphu Drubchen festival, also known as Lhamo'i Dromche. The sacred Drubchen dances in the Tantric Buddhist tradition are a skillful means of teaching Dharma through vajra ritual. They require natural ability and many years of physical and spiritual training. The wide variety of dance styles and dance steps need enhanced levels of strength, precision, and stamina. The monks are taught to discard all notions of ordinary self and assume the divine pride of the deity whose dance they are performing.
The masked dancer in this photo represents one of the “Lu” deities that protect lakes and rivers, know as Tshomen. In Bhutan, before disturbing a body of water to build a bridge, a dam, or an irrigation diversion, the Tshomen living there must grant permission, or the project will fail. If she does not grant permission, a sacred dance can be performed to distract the Tshomen while the work is being done. But Tshomen are hard to fool and occasionally trick, then seduce, humans. It is said that these Tshomen consorts can still be found today—mute, and toothless old men, living under bridges.
PHOTO PRINTS
Prints are on Hahnemuhle heavyweight (315 gsm) 100% archival cotton “Photo Rag Baryta” paper, using archival inks and archival spray coating. They have a 200-year life expectancy before any deterioration of the print will be observed when stored, handled, and displayed under archival conditions.
CANVAS PRINTS
What is often called “Gallery Wrap Canvas” is a fine art inkjet (Giclee) print on canvas, with printed edges to wrap around a wooden stretcher frame, like a painting. With canvas prints, your print image is still the same size, but given a "wrap effect" around the edges to account for the thickness of the stretcher. Canvas can be rolled and shipped with no effect to the print. Your local framing shop should be able to mount the canvas to stretchers at a fraction of the cost of traditional framing, making for an overall more economical way to get fine art on your wall. The canvas is printed to wrap around a 1-inch stretcher (1.5 inches on larger sizes). Specifications will be provided with your order. Feel free to contact us if you need guidance with your canvas order.
John prints, titles, dates, and signs all of his photos.
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