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Exhibition: 4 – September 10, 2017 East-West Center Gallery, Honolulu, Hawai‘i

East-West Center in cooperation with World Crafts Council Asia Pacific Region, Crafts Council of India, and Society Atelier Sarawak presents

Guest Curators: Edric Ong and Manjari Nirula EWC Gallery Curator: Michael Schuster Installation Design: Lynne Najita Assistant Curator: Annie Reynolds Coordinator: Eric Chang

Featuring works by: Bakhtiar Ajis, Chandrabhusan, Chen Mai, Tzulo Cho, Chimmi Choden, Narong Daun, Bharti Dayal, Dudung, Bangie Embol, Alphonso Guinoo, Abdul Tree of Life Jabbar, Prakash Joshi, Chen Kai, Peth Kim, Michael Lim, Master Lu, Maqbool, Kailash Meher, Abhaya Moktan, Ibu Nela, Malavika Neogi Chatterjee, Nancy Ngali, Mathew Ngau Jau, Edric Ong, Ramsay Ong, Tusau Padan, Petra Pelita, Jai Prakash, Vladimir Puchkovski, Rumah Rakuji, Peeraphong Rattanaseenurangkul, Deepak Sankit, Catherine Senia, Asif Shaikh, Gulam Nabi Sheikh, Bhaju Shyam, Nirmala Songket, Ram Soni, Sribhas C. Supakar, Tatiana Vorotnikova, and Yu Yuan

Kenyah, Indigenous culture of Sarawak, : “The tree gave birth to the first Fhuman named Lake Ajai Kuwai.”

ABOVE: “TREE OF LIFE HAT,” CATHERINE SENIA, MALAYSIA, CONTEMPORARY, RATTAN LEFT: “TREE OF LIFE,” HUANG CHEN MEI, TAIWAN, CONTEMPORARY, LACQUER PAINTING Zoroastrian Haoma Tree: “Honor to Haoma … his branches bow down that one may enjoy them. To the soul he is the way to heaven. In the beginning Ormazd gave to Haoma the girdle glittering with stars, wherewith he girdled himself uEpon the tops of mountains.”

BHARTI DAYAL PAINTS A MADHUBANI PAINTING IN INDIA

The Tree of Life is an archetype, theme, motif, image, spiritual concept, and Hindu Inverted Tree: mythological story that is found through - “This eternal asvattha whose roots out the world. The Tree of Life is often rise on high and whose branches understood to connect all forms of grow low is the pure, the Brahman, creation and is a cosmic conception what is called Non-Death. All the that connects the heavens, earth, –Katha Upanishad and underworld. It has influenced art worlds rest in it.” creation and visual representation for millennia. These diverse representations Manjari Nirula, co-curator from India have taken influences from indigenous states, “The aim of the exhibition is to cultures and major religions including create greater awareness about the , , Taoism, Judaism, E importance of ecology to stimulate , , Zoroastrianism, and creativity and innovation while highlighting RAMSAY ONG PAINTING IN SARAWAK, MALAYSIA other ancient religions. natural as well as cultural sustainability. The Tree of Life has diverse meanin g Craft has the least carbon footprint and There are many indigenous cultures across cultures in Asia. In Hindu that comes through very strongly in this in Sarawak, Malaysia that address the mythology, it is the Cosmic Tree, for exhibition.” concepts of the sacred forest. According the Babylonians it was the tree with the to co-curator Edric Ong from Sarawak, divine fruit, for the Zoroastrians it is “TREE OF LIFE MOTIF,” VIETNAMESE VINTAGE EMBROIDERY Malaysia, “The Tree of Life, known as the Haoma Tree, while in Chinese pohon budi in , is mythology the one who eats its talking about a tree of culture, a tree of fruits becomes immortal. civilization, a tree from which mankind This exhibition is beyond evolved. The exhibition builds bridges borders and the viewer will see and healing with its message of peace diverse objects from 20 Asian and love.” countries. Although the emphasis is on textiles there are also examples of the tree of life image in a multitude of media including paintings, ceramics, Islamic Tree of Bliss: basketry, metal work, jewelry, A Bedouin approached the lacquer, stone, wood, and leather. Prophet and asked, “What is bliss?” Handcrafted from natural and The Prophet answered: “Bliss is a tree sustainable materials, the artwork in Paradise, a tree of a hundred years’ focuses on traditional and contemporary walk, and those under the tree are interpretations of the Tree of Life. clothed by the sleeves of the tree.” –IbEn Hanbal referencing Abû-Sa‘îd al-Khudrî Daoist Tree of Immortality: “The peach is a symbol of immortality, said to have grown in the orchard of the QFueen Mother of the West.”

“TREE OF LIFE,” CHANDRABHUSAN, INDIA, MADHUBANI PAINTING, PHOTO: DAVID McLANAHAN “TREE OF LIFE,” CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE FROM CHIANG MAN, THAILAND

Judeo-Christian Tree of Knowledge: “Wisdom is a tree of life to them that lay –Proverbs 3:13-18 “TREE OF LIFE,” SANJHI RAM SONI, hold upon it…” INDIA, PAPER CUT AND GOLD LEAF “TREE OF LIFE PIDAN,” PETH KIM, CAMBODIA, “IBAN TREE OF LIFE,” TIANG RANYAL, SARAWAK, MALAYSIA, SILK SFILK IKAT NATURALLY DYED Special Events In the EWC Gallery with free admission.

The East-West Center promotes better relations Sunday, June 4, 2:00 –3:30 p.m. and understanding among the people and nations Exhibition Gala Opening including of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through reception, art demonstrations, short cooperative study, research, and dialogue. Established performance, and exhibition tour with by the U.S. Congress in 1960, the Center serves as guest curators Edric Ong and Manjari a resource for information and analysis on critical Nirula, with opening remarks by Dr. issues of common concern, bringing people together Ghada Hijjawi-Qaddumi, President, to exchange views, build expertise, and develop World Crafts Council-Asia Pacific Region policy options. The Center is an independent, public, nonprofit organization with funding from the Sunday, June 11, 2:00 –3:00 p.m. U.S. government, and additional support provided Illustrated Talk: “The ‘Tree of Life’ by private agencies, individuals, foundations, Exhibition: An Overview of the corporations, and governments in the region. International Collection” by guest curator Edric Ong The East-West Center Arts Program for more than 38 years has enriched the community Sunday, July 9, 2:00 –3:00 p.m. through concerts, lectures, symposia, and exhibitions Illustrated Talk: “The Buddhist Bodhi focusing on arts of the region, and by arranging Tree” by Patricia Masters, University of cultural and educational tours by artists who are Hawai‘i at Mānoa skilled in bridging cultures. Sunday, July 23, 2:00 –3:00 p.m. Illustrated Talk: “Tree of Life: ‘Ōhi‘a EWC Arts Team : Karen Knudsen, director, Office of External Affairs; Michael Schuster, Ph.D., Lehua” Learn about Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death curator; Eric Chang, arts program coordinator; threatening Hawai‘i’s Tree of Life with Annie Reynolds, arts program assistant; William Christy Martin, CGAPS-Coordinating Feltz, adjunct arts specialist; June Kuramoto, Group on Alien Pest Species (a project program officer; Gary Yoshida, Elizabeth Kuioka, of the Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, development officers; Kisore Sherreitt, Hunter UH-Mānoa) Kaye, student assistants. Sunday, August 13, 2:00 –3:00 p.m. Illustrated Talk: “Tree of Life: Forest “TREE OF LIFE WITH ,” EDRIC ONG, MALAYSIA, Mahalo: Edric Ong, Manjari Nirula, Dr. Ghada CONTEMPORARY, BATIK Hijjawi-Qaddumi, Shruthi Issac, Ramsay Ong, Transitions in and Michael Lim, Datin Dayang Mariani Abang Zain, Nepal” by Jefferson Fox, East-West Cheri Vasek, June Kuramoto, Lynne Najita, Kennedy Center & Preiss Graphic Design, Leilani Ng, Colorprints Sunday, August 27, 2:00 –3:00 p.m. Inc., Roselyn L. Lah, Lepau Restaurant (), Illustrated Talk: “Trees of Life: Buddhist Bodhi Tree: Singgahsana Lodge (Kuching), Jennifer Leger, The Value, Meaning and Use of “King Pasenadi of Kosala entered Shayne Hasegawa, Derek Ferrar, Phyllis Tabusa, Significant Trees in the Honolulu the sacred park at Bodh Gaya, Lucy Kamealoha, Deanna O’Brien, Tina Tom, Patsy Botanical Gardens” by Jocelyn Sand, saw the Bodhi Tree and exclaimed: Hiraoka, Marie Ebesu, EWC Facilities Management. Honolulu Botanical Gardens ‘The roots of this tree are Sunday, September 10, 2:00 –4:30 p.m. Visiting artists during the opening week: Film: “Tree of Life” a 2011 American lovely and inspiring, quiet and Mathew Ngau Jau : painting, lute music experimental epic drama written and Fundisturbed by voices, with an (Sarawak); Edric Ong : textile design (Sarawak); directed by Terrence Malick and atmosphere of seclusion, remote Ramsay Ong : painting, collage, beading starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, from people, favorable for (Sarawak); Jai Prakash : miniature painting and J essica Chastain; 139 min. –Dhammacetiya Sutta (India); Deepak Sankit : enamel jewelry (India) retreat...’”

East-West Center Gallery John A. Burns Hall, 1601 East-West Road (corner Dole St. & East-West Rd.) Gallery admission is free. Hours: Open Weekdays 8:00 a.m. –5:00 p.m. and Sundays Noon –4:00 p.m. Closed Saturdays, July 4, September 3 & 4. Parking on the UH-Mānoa campus is normally free and ample on Sundays. Free school & group tours available This exhibition is made possible by The Hawaii Pacific Rim Society; Richard H. Cox; For further information: 94 4-7177 Aqua-Aston Hospitality; Sony Hawaii Company; Friends of Hawaii Charities, Inc.; World [email protected] Crafts Council-Asia Pacific Region; Crafts Council of India; The Raza Foundation, Delhi, http://arts.EastWestCenter.org India; Society Atelier Sarawak; Eon Company. Find us on Facebook The EWC Arts Program is supported by EWC Arts ‘Ohana members, Barbara B. Smith, Jean E. Rolles, and Instagram: EWC_arts Jackie Chan Foundation USA, and other generous donors.

Printed with soy based inks on recycled paper