Khatvanga Tank
(private collection)
1997, 36" by 36", oil and gold leaf and
mica on canvas
In the 5th century, in Sri Lanka, a king decreed
that no drop of rain should fall but that it should be of benefit
to all the people.
And so, in a golden age of social generosity, workers
carved water-gathering depressions into the great rocks of Sri Lanka.
One source, the rain, would fill them, and then
labor-made channels would distribute the water.
In my series of tank paintings, raw silk squares
(or rectangles) represent these tanks, which become gathering places
for some of the regional art forms, the crafts, or the practices
I have admired in south Asia.
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