Monash Memo - articles - 10 October 2001

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Three views of emptiness on show

Emptiness (Sunyata) is an idea central to Buddhism, a religion of increasing significance within western culture and a way of life of profound importance to the three artists whose work is featured in an exhibition that opened at the Monash University Museum of Art this week.

Three Views of Emptiness: Buddhism and the Art of Tim Johnson, Lindy Lee and Peter Tyndall, curated by Linda Michael, includes new works by these artists, all of whom have come to Buddhism from a background within western culture and art history.

For Peter Tyndall (pictured), his return to Monash as part of the exhibition will also be a step back in time, as he was the first ever artist-in-residence at Monash in 1975.

"I'm really excited to be back - those who know my work will be aware that it follows a persistent line from 1974 to the present," Mr Tyndall said.

In this exhibition, all three artists invite us to think about the relationship of art to a world in which everything is interconnected and impermanent - an idea central to Buddhist thought.

Tyndall's paintings depict everything within an infinite web of connection and question the way we project our desires onto things.

In her recent 'splat' paintings, Lindy Lee surrenders her own creative self to open up to forces from the outside world.

Tim Johnson's synthetic approach brings together images and sounds from different cultures to create dream-like 'mindscapes', often in collaboration with a Tibetan artist.

The exhibition is accompanied by a full-colour, 48-page catalogue and runs until 24 November.