Transient Nature exhibition at the Tibetan Buddhist Institute for SALA 2026

I had an exhibition for SALA this year that ran from the 2nd to the 16th of August at the Tibetan Buddhist Institute. Alongside my exhibit, two Tibetan monks meticulously crafted a Chenrezig Compassion sand mandala over the course of 15 days. Geshe Karma and Geshe Jamyang spent a few hours each day for 15 continuous days to build this beautiful work of art. On the 15th day we had a closing ceremony which consisted of me giving a 20 minute artist talk in front of 90 people about my photographs on the walls. This was followed by a dissolution ceremony; a ritual and chanting before the two monks swept the mandala away in mere minutes. We then proceeded to Grange Jetty where a small portion of the mixed up sand was poured into the sea at the end of the jetty.

My printed exhibition of 22 pictures across three separate projects, hung on the walls around the table where the mandala was being made. All of the images are below, as well as images I documented of the creation of the sand mandala throughout the two weeks.

Alex Stock was also documenting the creation of the Mandala as well as the exhibition opening and the closing ceremony.

100% of the profits from sales during the SALA period are donated to the Tibetan Buddhist Institute.

Thanks to the Tibetan Buddhist Institute, and in particular Rachelle and Tenzin for inviting me to exhibit at their Flinders Park location in Adelaide for SALA this year. Also thanks to Geshe Karma and Geshe Jamyang from Sera Jey Monastery for sharing this beautiful cultural experience.

This exhibition was kindly supported by the City of Charles Sturt.

Transient Nature photo project

Life is fleeting; we exist only for a brief moment in time. I see parallels between the transient nature of civilisations and the transient nature of our own lives. Just as ancient temples and cities crumble over time, so do our bodies and minds. The Khmer civilisation rose to great heights with their mastery of architecture, hydraulics, and art before ultimately succumbing to the passage of time.

In some ways, I see doorways as a metaphor for this transience. They are places of transition and liminality, where we move from one phase of life to another, from one place to another. Every journey is a reminder of the impermanence of our existence - that we are all simply passing through.

In embracing this transience, we can find beauty, meaning, and a deeper appreciation for the moments we have.

Please note: The images on the shop website link are cropped. The actual images will be as they appear on this page here.

Terra Perennis Photo Project

Everlasting Earth, the (loose) latin translation of Terra Perennis sounds like a contradiction to “Impermanence”, but the earth consistently changes, moves and rearranges itself. 

The trees in this series are all captured from a moving Tuk Tuk in Siem Reap, Cambodia, as I travelled from one temple to another. Using slow shutter speeds and panning my camera to keep each tree as the focal point, the background distractions disappear into a blur of movement. Whilst the doorway images are static and document transience, these images illustrate literally and technically the passage of time around nature itself. 

Trees are in no rush to go anywhere, but time whizzes by in a flurry around them. 

The earth has survived global deep freezes, massive asteroid impacts, and major mass extinction events, yet here we are, for but a blip in time - Earth will endure the human impact too. 

Emptiness & Compassion

His Eminence the 7th Ling Rinpoche was reading about compassion and emptiness when I made this photograph. The bright window behind His Eminence allowed me to use his silhouette to strip back the detail thus making the image more about attention rather than description. Emptiness leaves space to meet; compassion gives the subject room to breathe. 

Click here to buy a print.

Chenrezig Sand Mandala Timelapse

For the duration of the exhibition at the Tibetan Buddhist Institute, I had a timelapse camera taking one picture every minute. I used the Canon R6 MkII mounted overhead with some Kupo grip equipment and a geared tripod head, securely fastened with metal zip ties 3 metres above the table. The lens I used was a fixed 28mm Pentax lens and RF convertor kindly lent to me by my friend Samuel Graves. I ran a 10 metre tether cable by Prism Tether down the wall so I could control the camera without having to climb a ladder, and I used a Hahnel Captur trigger to fire the shutter. This also allowed me to easily download images from the camera each time I visited.

During the dissolution ceremony I ran EOS Utility from my laptop to increase the increments to 5 seconds which overrode the trigger, as the final act happens relatively quickly.

The finished Sand Mandala

Profits from the sale of the Sand Mandala print will be donated to the Tibetan Buddhist Institute each month.

Chenrezig sand mandala @ Tibetan Buddhist Institute

Chenrezig sand mandala @ Mortlock Chamber

Kindly supported by the State Library of South Australia, SALA festival and The Tibetan Buddhist Institute, a new Chenrezig sand mandala is being made at the Mortlock Chamber from the 27th of August through to the 30th of August. I visited the site on day 1 and documented the process. At around 4:30pm, the sunlight started to shine through only one of the many windows on the ground floor, and it just happened to cast a clean ray of light right through the middle of the mandala. The strangest thing is that there are many windows on that side of the building, but there is a gap in the buildings outside which lets the sun through, and perfectly lights up the sand mandala. And to think that the table location in relation to this beam of light was completely accidental.

Additional images captured during the exhibition and creation of the sand mandala