Screen printed aluminum sheet, 18in by 18in   Go to Signs from Tibet website

The images of the uprisings that erupted across Tibet in Spring 2008  appeared on screens, monitors and newspaper pages around the world. The courage and conviction of the Tibetans in peacefully asserting their rights in the face of certain repression, affected millions of people deeply and moved their governments to urge a resolution to the Tibet question.   

And from amongst all the images, perhaps the videos of the monks from Jokhang Temple in Lhasa and Labrang monastery in Amdo, who sacrificed their own security by speaking what was in the hearts of all Tibetans, remain some of the most haunting and roiling images of pure dissent.

Gyatso’s portraits of the monks, printed  on metal, suggest ordinary public signs, but where the images pulsate into being and then recede into random dissonant patterns, reflecting both the nature of the highly charged incidences and the state of conflict and uncertainty that pervades Tibet today.

Jokhang #1       Jokhang #2      Jokhang #3       Jokhang #4       Jokhang 5        Jokhang #6

Labrang #1       Labrang #2         Labrang #3       Labrang #4        Labrang #5       Labrang #6