The destroyed Buddhas of Bamiyan may never be restored, but thanks to the assistance of a mainland Chinese couple, the gigantic statues have made a partial return in the form of 3D light projections.
Holographic projection screened onto niche where Solsol once stood. From ibtimes.co.uk
The Bamiyan Buddhas refer to two statues once carved into the face of a cliff in Bamiyan Valley, central Afghanistan. Named “Solsol” (53 meters tall, built between 591 and 644 CE) and “Shahmama” (35 meters tall, built between 544 and 595 CE), they exhibited the classic hybrid style of Gandharan art. The statues had been assaulted throughout medieval history, but in 2001 were completely destroyed by the Taliban, who considered them “idolatrous.”The Buddhas’ destruction is also thought to have been an assault against a globalized concept of cultural heritage. In 2008, the World Monuments Fund included the ruined statues on the World Monuments Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. Visitors can still explore the caves and passages that once connected them.
Solsol in 1963 and 2008. From Wikipedia
Saddened by the loss of the heritage, documentarians Janson Yu and Liyan Hu decided to build a device with upgraded capabilities to those used for regular laser light shows. The device, which cost over US$120,000, directs light onto a two-dimensional surface to show a precise three-dimensional image. The couple referenced a collection of images of the Buddhas to digitally reconstruct the original statues. Having obtained permission from the Afghan authorities, on 7 June, they beamed the projections onto the niches where the Buddhas once stood—to the delight of local villagers. Although not widely publicized, over 150 people attended the event.
Many Afghanis, including some who were forced by the Taliban to participate in the statues’ destruction, regret their loss. Bike repairman Mirza Hussain told the BBC in March: “I regretted it [drilling holes and planting dynamite to set off explosions] at that time, I regret it now and I will always regret it. But I could not resist, I didn’t have a choice because they would have killed me.”
Shahmama in 1977. From Wikipedia
UNESCO will not seek to restore the Bamiyan Buddhas, but German scientists working for the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) initiated methodological disagreements in 2011 by attempting to rebuild Shamama’s legs. This has led to further debate among UNESCO, ICOMOS, conservation and governmental organizations, and local Afghans over issues like restoration, reproduction, domestic policy, and ethics. Some, like human rights activist Abdullah Hamadi, suggest the niches should be left empty as warnings against fanaticism like the Taliban’s. Yet others, like Abdullah Mahmoodi of the Bamiyan Tourism Association, believe that the reconstruction of the Buddhas would benefit local residents from tourism.