Asheville photographer Taylor Johnson reveals rare photos from remote Tibetan temples in his exhibition “Visions of Tibet,” which will run until 15 February 2015 at Urban Dharma Buddhist Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
Granted full permission to photograph in isolated areas, Johnson and Urban Dharma Buddhist Center’s founder Hun Lye spent two weeks last summer documenting the hidden Himalayan monasteries and nunneries. Braving uncharted territory and even military interrogations, Johnson describes every aspect of the temples as having been “designed, sculpted and painted in a strikingly beautiful way.” “I’ve never experienced anything like that before,” he tells journalist Jake Frankel in an article for Mountain Xpress. “Combine that visual beauty with the sound of chanting and the smell of incense and burning butter candles, and combine that with the history of what has happened there and you get a depth of richness that is pretty much indescribable.”
The difficulties Johnson and Lye faced range from accessing the remote areas to the mountainous landscape. Unable to acclimate to the extreme elevation during the short time they were there, the travelers suffered badly from shortness of breath and fatigue. One of the monasteries, perched at 15,000 feet, could only be reached a long flight of steps.
As well as documenting the breathtaking temples, one of the highlights of the trip was meeting the monks and nuns. Since their trip was at the invitation of the head of the Drikung Kagyu lineage, Johnson and Lye were warmly welcomed by the monastics. The photographers were able to interview both monks and nuns about their daily activities. Johnson reflects, “We spent hours in those guest rooms . . . Learning about their daily lives made the experience of photographing the monasteries and nunneries infinitely more meaningful.”
He says, “It was an honor, and . . . incredibly humbling” to be one of the few photographers to capture the beauty of the monasteries and nunneries in the area. “I remember being speechless inside the monasteries and nunneries a few times, feeling a deep sense of awe and gratitude mixed with the pressure of the reality that most humans would never be able to be in those places.” He hopes that viewers will see beyond the images to get a feeling for the lives of the temples’ residents: “If people can truly get a glimpse of that feeling, even if it’s only in one of the photographs I took, I will feel like I did my job well.”
A North Carolina native, Johnson, often called “Taz,” graduated high school in 2008 and began to pursue photography and videography professionally as recently as 2012. In his biography on his website, Johnson describes himself as a regular “yoga practitioner, musician, wood chopper, food cooker, lover of community and admirer of the beauty of the world.”
Future plans for the photographs include a book, which will aim to document the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.