THE CANBERRA TIMES
By Sasha Grishin
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| Tim Johnson, Panchen Lama with Karma Phuntsok, 2016. Photo: Supplied |
AUSTRALIA---
Tim Johnson is the great "synthesiser" in Australian art. In Johnson's art, his synthesising goes beyond mere eclecticism, which involves sampling or the absorption of disparate elements: rather it is the integration of different religious iconographies, periods of time and visual codes. In the large glowing canvas
Yamantaka, 2016, painted collaboratively with Bogunovic, a floating Chinese temple shares the picture space with traditional Christian iconography from scenes of the Nativity, Annunciation and the Resurrection, Buddhist iconography and the floating UFO. [
link]
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| In another painting, one of the strongest in this exhibition, West Camp 2, 2016, Aboriginal artists squat on the ground working on their canvases, while Buddhist imagery harmoniously accommodates a flying saucer overhead plus grazing animals. |
