Passage to Heaven

In my dreams, Tibet is always in the heavens. And the robust Tibetan culture is deeply rooted in the desolate land of the snowy high plateau. The conception of "Passage to Heaven" is my creative attempt, in which I wanted to completely discard my previous threads of thoughts, not just to portray the splendid attire in the Tibetan culture and the majestic snowy plains that has defined my creative positioning. Instead, I revisited the earthy Tibetan folk customs and the primitive highland atmosphere, putting the creative focus back on the portrayal of ordinary Tibetans, striving to explore their profound and mysterious lifestyle and the pious simplicity of their religious charms. The painting was composited in a centripetal, symmetrical cohesion, through a combination of plots and characters set in a symbolic way to express the pure-hearted Tibetans' spiritual devotion to the heaven, reverence for the divine, and mutual care for each other. The hide raft in the painting, a basic tool for fishing and river-crossing for Tibetans in earlier years, symbolizes the wheel and ferry for the longing from the vivid mortal world to the mystical paradise, also representing the journey of the worship through sufferings, ascending to the reverence of enlightenment. The two Tibetan women helping each other on the stone bridge play a pivotal role in both the composition and the conception. They also symbolize that the mutual care is the best form of spiritual transcendence. "Passage" signifies bridging the distance between humans and the lofty heights of the soul. Although the mundane world is filled with hardship, the heaven remains serene. A small boat carries the beautiful wishes and blessings, while a helping hand is full of the earthy spiritual care. May the "Passage to Heaven" emit a ray of human warmth, carrying the soul to reach the supreme heavenly pure land.