ABSTRACT
Spiritual references have also been important, especially the use of Lao words, texts, and concepts from Theravada Buddhism, including khaathaa and paritta protective incantations or spells. The word yok is used for the activity of “lifting” Pali words and passages from a text and incorporating or commenting on them in another text. These lifted words, removed from their original source context, take on the adapted meanings assigned to them by the original “lifters” and subsequent “citers.” In Lifting words and Gathering Leaves the text was painted on the canvas surface repetitively and calligraphically. Similarly, the political speech in Floating Words is used a bit like a religious mantra. Whether painting in solitude in the studio or participating in a religious ceremony, what is prevalent in both the rituals is the desire to create a dialogue between form and meaning.
