Wong Lip Chin, 吳剛伐桂 Turtles All the Way Down, 2022

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Acrylic on canvas

192 x 107 cm

Click to view the artist's inspiration: Dependent Origination https://encyclopediabuddhicaf19.andrewquintman.wescreates.wesleyan.edu/blog/category/d/

吳剛伐桂 wú gāng fá guì (Wu Gang cuts the laurel) is an idiom used to describe any endless toil. It originates from the myth of Wu Gang who perpetually cuts down a self-healing osmanthus tree on the Moon, a divine punishment likened to the Chinese equivalent of Sisyphus in Greek mythology. Relating the interminable to Heaven, Earth and Hell, the vicious cycle of desire is made apparent in each realm that no one escapes – even heaven has another level of ascension that deities want to achieve. Echoing such absurdity is the title’s reference to the mythological idea of a ‘turtle world’ often used to illustrate infinite regress*, warning us that perhaps our final destination of paradise is but a mere illusion.

*Infinite regress, n. a sequence of reasoning or justification which can never come to an end.

Wong Lip Chin: Mother Flippin’ Heavens! 翻天印 (fān tiān yìn)

Wong Lip Chin: Mother Flippin’ Heavens! 翻天印 (fān tiān yìn)

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Wong Lip Chin

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Wong Lip Chin