PABHA

I painted this painting in year 1997. The idea came from reading Buddhist texts, but I didn't react to it at once. It lurked in the back of my mind until I read the poem by Thich Nhat Hanh about a brother coming home from an adventurous journey and kneeling in tears at the family altar, vowing never to venture out again. Thich wanted the brother to break out of his shell and assume a life devoid of all selfish desires. I still did not try to paint this until one day when I felt that I was ready to do it.


Smile and Tears. 1997. Acrylic on canvas. 153 x 128 cm. By Jimmy Quek Prabhakara.

"A mystical picture full of Buddhist symbols, such as the lotus and the flaming mountain. It has obvious links with his earlier paintings about change and impermanence but is intended to capture and evoke a mood of contemplation." - Constance Sheares. 1997.