Anitya is a series of new prints by Inside Out artist John G. Swogger. The prints are being exhibited in Mike Coppock’s gallery space in Rowanthorn Fair Trade shop and gallery on Beatrice St. in Oswestry between August and December, 2012. There are five prints in the series, and a new print will be exhibited each month.
Anitya is a sanskrit word meaning “impermanence”. Impermanence is one of the three “marks of existence” in Buddhism, and the term Anitya is used to describe the state of constant flux of all things in the universe. Human life – with its ever-changing process of birth, ageing, death (and in Buddhism, then rebirth) – is seen as an embodiment of this principle. Anitya can also be used to refer to any experience of loss.
This concept of impermanence is related to the Buddhist doctrine which states that things have no fixed nature, essence or self – because all phenomena are in a state of flux and therefore impermanent.
John’s prints explore this concept of impermanence in relation to traditional Buddhist culture, present and past, and western documentary photography of Tibet, Nepal and the Himalayas. The prints also draw heavily on his work as an archaeological illustrator.
“Our present is built from the bones of the past.
As an archaeologist, my work is based in this present/past. This material and phenomenological landscape is not simply shaped by history, it is part of the very fabric of all that has gone before. The ordinary content of our lives are all part of a continuum of the past manifested within our present.
My original inspiration for this series of prints was the Himalayan material in Rowanthorn itself. My art is based as much on ideas as on visual impressions, so these prints are a creative response to both the ideas and visuals that sparked that original inspiration.”
from the exhibition notes
Catalogue of Prints
There are five prints, each one titled in reference to the five aggregates (skandhas) – the various forms of impermanence. The prints are on display exclusively in Rowanthorn until the end of their month’s exhibition, at which point the print will also be posted here along with some discussion. Each print is related both visually and thematically to the other four in the series as shown in the diagram:
August
Form (rupa)
Digital print, 30x30cm
September
Sensation (vedana)
Digital print, 30x30cm
October
Perception (samjna)
Digital print, 30x30cm
November
Impulse (samskara)
Digital print, 30x30cm
December
Consciousness (vijnana)
Digitial print, 30x30cm
Inside Out Art Group 
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[…] John’s prints explore the Buddhist concept of “Anitya”, or impermanence, with particular reference to culture, photography and Tibet. The prints draw their inspiration from the eastern flavour of Rowanthorn and the Tibetan and fair trade-sourced gifts, artwork and clothing Mike has in the store, as well as his own background as an archaeological illustrator. There’s more on the prints here. […]
[…] be exhibited exclusively in Rowanthorn, one every month between August and December. There is a page on the Inside Out website with more about the […]