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OTHER STORIES
With Soil From Everywhere, Mandala Shows that We're All Connected
Artist Neil Tetkowski with his Mandala |
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The 189 members of the United Nations sent more than just representatives to
the PrepCom for the World Summit on Sustainable Development that opened
today—they also sent a little part of themselves, in the form of clay and
soil.
Melded together, the earth from all the countries of the world has become part
of the World Mandala Project, the brainchild of New York artist Neil Tetkowski.
It will be on view to the public at the Main Lobby of the United Nations from
28 January to 11 March.
The idea of the giant eight-foot-high mandala, which looks like a 10-slice
adobe-colored pizza with a spiral design, is to symbolize the oneness of all
humanity. "It is about the relationship of people to the greater
good," Tetkowski said. "It is a portrait of humanity."
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Johannesburg Summit Secretary-General Nitin Desai said, "This
extraordinary work of art illustrates the spiritual and genetic thread that
connects all people, tying us together with hope and inspiration."
At the unveiling of the monument, Tetkowski said that the project has involved
scores of people from all walks of life who helped provide the clay and soil.
"There were barefoot children in Rwanda and Burundi. There were United
Nations ambassadors who wanted to be involved in a hands-on way."
Lowell Flanders, of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said the
Mandala illustrates the idea that existence is rooted in soil, as well as the
idea, which goes way back in time, that all people are merely clay in the hands
of God. It's an idea, he said, "that we lose sight of in this
technological age."
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Copyright © United
Nations
Department of Economic and
Social Affairs
Division for
Sustainable Development
Comments and suggestions
24 August 2006
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