The Personal Mark Shall Be Elevated to Art
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s Per- sonal Mark is the portrait of His Holiness’s inner identity, designed as an invisible form of his spirit. I have created it as a three- dimensional sculpture and used Japa- nese lacquer art techniques to elevate the design to Art. It took a whole year to complete a three-dimensional Personal Mark statue for His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, working with a master lacquer artisan who produces sacred treasures of Ise Grand Shrine. The work is the most intricate piece you have ever seen, even in a few thousand years of lacquer art history; then, with lacquer art being applied, it was fin- ished up with gold-inlaid lacquer polishing. This work ultimately evolutionized the quality of Japanese traditional techniques, which are the finest in the world, and ele- vated Personal Mark design to Art.
On November 11, 2010, at the Hiroshima City Cultural Exchange Hall, the work was presented to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in front of an audience of thousands. “Very modern!” His Holiness said, his voice echoing throughout the entire hall.