Ante Uruvela

Uruvela was the former name of the small temple town Bodhgaya, in northern India, where Siddhartha attained enlightment beneath a bodhi tree, and became Buddha. Like the title says, the ink drawing depicts this place before the holy event took place. 'Ante Uruvela' is part of a small series of drawings representing highly symbolic religious places in their original, untouched wilderness, before human presence and culture interfered in the dominion of nature. Due to their reduced dimensions, these miniature works invite us to a closer, more intimate view, and express the artist's desire to guide the viewer to a slower, deeper contemplation. Moreover, these natural landscapes present themselves as refined reflections on the seminal impact that culture has on the definition of territories.