Imperial War Museum, London

 

“Sculpture doesn’t have to be on a plinth or in a gallery,” says Hamish Horsley. “It can be a dramatic and intrinsic part of a public landscape.” Works like the Tibetan Peace Garden prove that public art can make a mark on its location – and on the people who visit it.

 

But a peace garden in the grounds of a war museum? It sounds like an odd juxtaposition, but Horsley thinks it’s perfectly appropriate. “I see the work as an antidote to our nation’s – and our world’s – history of conflict, oppression and war, and I hope it will cause people to stop and think.”

 

The centrally planned, circular space is approached from a footpath; a stone pillar marks the entryway. The Language Pillar's design was derived from a 9th-century column that stood in central Lhasa commemorating a peace treaty between Tibet and China and removed by the Chinese following the 1950 invasion.

 

Each face of this pillar, visible from the main entrance of the War Museum, bears a  'Message for the Millennium' from the 14th Dalai Lama in Tibetan, English, Chinese and Hindi: “It is in the interests of all of us on this planet that we make a joint effort to turn the next century into an era of peace and harmony. May this peace garden become a monument to the courage of the Tibetan people and their commitment to peace.” 

 

 

 

The work’s Tibetan title Samten Kyil means 'Place of Contemplation', and Horsley loves the fact that visitors can spend time in the garden reflecting on their own life stories and personal challenges – as well as the challenges faced by the Tibetan people.

 

“Tibet has influenced much of my work,” says Horsley. “It is a land of magical landscapes, mystery and spiritual insight.” Horsley has incorporated Buddhist symbolism in the garden’s structure, design and decoration. He based the garden’s layout on the Wheel of Dharma, with the four main stone sculptures symbolising the four elements: Earth (east), Air (the western gateway), Fire (north), and Water (south), with the enclosure itself representing the fifth element, Space. At the heart of the circle, set into black Kilkenny limestone is a bronze cast of a Kalachakra Mandala, thought to bless all who gaze upon it. It was designed by Tibetan monks in India and then carved in plaster in the artist’s studio. Surrounding the mandala are the ‘Eight Auspicious Symbols’ cast in bronze. Tibetan and Himalayan plants bloom in the gardens around the perimeter.

 

Horsley collaborated with architect Guy Stansfeld, consulted with Tibetan monks and brought in a large team of landscapers, contractors and artists – including master stone carvers Tim Metcalfe and Tibetan Awang Dorje to work on the mandala. "On some days the number of people working on site was really something to see,” says Horsley. “The intense activity and team work was a very significant aspect of the project." 

 

The garden is a monument to the courage of the Tibetan people and their patient commitment to the path of non-violence and peace. “I hope that people will be aware of what Tibet represents both as a unique and extraordinary culture and as a nation ruthlessly oppressed,” says Horsley.