"Freedom for Tibet Garden"

The “Tibetan Freedom garden” central design elements consist of a sunken circular seating area and a raised square lawn. The circular area is fragmented and broken by stone troughs which are filled with black pebbles. This fragmentation is meant to be symbolic of today’s Tibet and the way the country has been invaded by Chinese troops and taken over by the Chinese government to become part of China. It is representative of how the country has been broken up and divided by the religious extremes of Buddhism and enforced Communism the result being political unrest, dilution of Buddhism and the suffering of the Tibetan people. The square which forms the lawn area is meant to be representative of China and communism and encroaches into the circular area pushing out a segment of the circle to one side which is meant to be representative of China pushing out the Dali Lama and forcing him into exile. The Dali Lama is represented as this segment and therefore a missing part of the broken link. The square shape is in opposition and conflict with the circular shape and the star shape embedded in the lawn is representative of the yellow stars which adorn the Chinese flag.

Looking at the two shapes together they are also representative of the Tibetan flag with the corner of the square representing the mountain and the rays coming out from the circle representative of the sun which are the two central elements that make up the Tibetan flag. The raised circular glass sculpture towards the back of the garden is representative of all four quarters of the globe coming together in an effort towards peaceful solutions through troubled times with the Dali Lama a guiding light. The spiral cast iron ascendancy sculptures which protrude through the ground are symbolic of the seeds of hope which reach toward the heavens to attain enlightenment, a state of spiritual attainment through meditation and prayer. Plants have been chosen that are endemic to Tibet and the Himalayas and have been chosen for their colour; red and white. Red is meant to be representative of bloodshed and Communism, white is meant to be representative of peace and spirituality the two opposing forces. The space as a whole is meant to be a space for contemplation and reflection with the central seating area a place for discussion rather than creature comforts.

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