Breaking The Mandala

Nang Yai is a traditional form of shadow puppetry found in Southeast Asia with unique artistic differences in different regions of the area, often depicting Hindu epics, local folklore, and Theravada Buddhist tales. This form of theatre however is slowly disappearing due to colonialism and subsequent westernisation of different Southeast Asian nations. Breaking the Mandala is a series that is inspired by this traditional form theatre and artistic puppetry style that depicts the combined story of colonialism in mainland Southeast Asia. The series illustrates the simplified universal steps in which colonial powers used to capture and maintain power in the region through use of shadow and symbolisms, breaking the status quo of the Mandala system in the region.