Jennifer Schlesinger
Photography

Dar Cho

2020-Ongoing

​

Over 2000 years ago, the local people of pre-Buddhist Tibet, made flags to honor the nature gods, in a distinct shamanistic religion, but with teachings, terminology and rituals that resembled Tibetan Buddhism. The purpose behind the prayer flags dealt primarily with what the region’s spiritual leaders were most concerned with – the life of all beings. The Tibetan word for prayer flag is Dar Cho, which means “to increase life, fortune, health and wealth” (Dar) “of all sentient beings” (Cho). These prayer flags were messengers and mediums of this mission - they harmonized with the environment, and they were intended to increase the happiness and good fortune of all beings around them. These flags were displayed across mountain passes, on homes, and throughout locales, and have been recorded in China, Persia and India as well, all with the intention of fulfilling this spiritual mission.

 

The pre-pandemic year 2019 was a challenging year for my family, and I decided to focus on putting my own wishes into a series of prayer flags composed of my photographs in which to hold blessings for better things to come in the following year. 2020 was to be that new year - and then the pandemic hit us all, and we all needed the blessings even more than before. I have spent the past year working on the completion of my first set of prayer flags. - Jennifer Schlesinger

This series are printed on gelatin silver watercolor paper with a deckled edge and floated in an 8ply archival matte. They are tiered in price by edition number, approximately 6 x 6” Edition of 9 with 3 AP. Prints are signed, dated, editioned, and titled on print verso.