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kailas - gang rinpoche - the snow jewel - the concept

In 1999 EG excavated the first SOIL for a Terragraphy project in Asia. It should be a further step in the progress of the realisation of the continuously growing 'Picture of the World'.

In the middle of the biggest continent, in the Transhimalayan mountains, towers the most Sacred Mountain of the world, the KAILAS, which the Tibetans call Gang Rinpoche, the ice jewel. At its foot the four big rivers Indus, Brahmaputra, Sadletsch and Karnali rise. For more than a thousand years Hindi and Buddhist, Dschain and Bön have walked around this perfect mountain, the navel of the world, to get its blessing, to improve their Karma and to wipe out the sins of a whole life time.


EG reached Tibet in August after a trek through West Nepal following the old pilgrim's path along the river Karnali and over the Nara La. Passing the Holy Lakes Raksastal and Manasarovar he reached the KAILAS by car at Darchen, the starting point of the pilgrim's path.

In three days he walked around the Sacred Mountain on the traditional Kora. During the rounding he excavated 12 SOIL samples at the prostration sites and other significant places of this way. The number of SOIL samples corresponds to the 12 months of a year and the 12 years of a cycle.

The EARTH ART WORKS which have been printed with this SOIL symbolize the Kora and are a naturally given mandala of the path around the Holy Mountain. The 12 Earth Art Works and 4 texts about the KAILAS form a square of 4 x 4 squares. The leafs are placed between hand carved wood covers which are wrapped in a yellow silk scarf. Both the square and the yellow colour are the Tibetan symbols for EARTH.


The design of a 'Tibetan Book' for this project has been chosen corresponding to the spiritual meaning of the work in the context to the 'picture of the world'. It represents Asia in this work of art.