By
combining Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th
Dalai Lama (spiritual and temporal
leader of the Tibetan Government
in Exile), with Yoda, a character from
the Star
Wars
franchise, this
painting depicts a transformation of two
well known figures into a
humorous abstraction, in an attempt to capture
the kindness and
wisdom embodied in each personality.
The
portrait was inspired when the artist attended a public discourse by
the Dalai Lama at Bodhgaya, India, in January 2005. After reflecting
on how much the Dalai Lama resembled Yoda in his mannerisms
and vocal
inflections, an image of the two combined personalities
emerged and
was sketched several months later on paper. It was then
refined and
painted on canvas using acrylics.
Both
the Star
Wars fictional
Jedi order (a monastic order of which
Yoda is a master) and Buddhism
contain key teachings on transformation.
The teachings emphasise the
ability and potential to transform one's
unwholesome and deleterious
mental habits and world views, into
positive and beneficial ones.