Prologue

One unfolds within sutras, restoring the traces of time;
the other moves through walking, re-experiencing civilization through the body.

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At the heart of the exhibition is a surfboard crafted from a 300-year-old sacred tree from Nara. When introduced into a Zen space, it no longer points to sport, but becomes a metaphor for how one stands within the flow.

Kosho-ji Temple in Kyoto has long upheld the tradition of airing large-scale paintings of Bodhidharma during certain seasons. Known for “wall-gazing” and “practice in motion,” Bodhidharma’s image is not merely for viewing, but serves as a reminder to cultivate practice while moving through the world.

The exhibition draws upon the legend of Bodhidharma crossing the river on a single reed as a spiritual metaphor.

The lightness of the reed does not rely on divine power, but symbolizes passage achieved through non-attachment and clarity.

The surfboard becomes today’s “reed”—an object centered on bodily experience, through which balance and awareness are practiced upon the surface of water.

In this exhibition, the surfboard and the image of Bodhidharma are not juxtaposed as symbols, but resonate on the level of practice, crossing, and contemplative awareness.

“Aqueous Phase” is both form and a state of mind—impermanence, and the present moment. “Attuning to the Rhythms of the Waves” is not about mastering the waves, but about entrusting oneself to the rhythm of water.

Within the living practice environment of Kosho-ji Temple, viewing extends beyond the visual and becomes a process of returning to oneself. The exhibition unfolds with the rhythm of the seasons, inviting repeated encounters and renewed experience over time.

To stand within the flux of the world, to find awareness and stillness within impermanence. To rediscover the relationship between self and world. To attune to the waves is also to listen to oneself.

— Curator: Lei Zhao