Marking Impermanence

The Life of the Object (and Index) in Sonam Dolma Brauen’s Art

Abstract

This essay explores works by contemporary artist Sonam Dolma Brauen through two lenses: as the result of ongoing and changing functions of an object, and as part of a broader dialogue about indexical imagery in contemporary art. Sonam Dolma’s family escaped from Tibet to India when she was young, carrying few possessions on their difficult journey through the Himalayas. One of these items, a small metal tsa tsa mold used in Tibetan Buddhist rituals, would later become an instrument of creation in Sonam Dolma’s art practice. Comprised of multiple plaster casts made from the original object, the artworks mark the former presence of the object—they are indexical. I examine two works, My Father’s Death (2010) and Red Carpet (2011), exploring this indexical nature and asking, how might new functions emerge from old forms?