Journal · 07 · A visual reflection
Inspired by Indra’s Net
01 / A small beginning
A small mirrored cube, a few lights, a window at night. Close enough, the edges fall outside the photograph. The reflections seem to continue into a space much larger than the object that holds them.
What drew me in was the way the lights seemed to reflect one another—and the impression of a whole universe inside something small.
Change your point of view
02 / Each light, with the others
In the metaphor of Indra’s Net, associated with Huayan Buddhism, a jewel sits at every crossing of an immense net. Each jewel reflects all the others. The image expresses interdependence: each part is understood through its relationships with the whole.
The repeated lights in the cube brought that image to mind. A single point becomes part of a pattern; the pattern gives the small interior its unexpected depth.
Read about Huayan Buddhism ↗Repeated reflections between mirrored surfaces create the impression of distance. The lights become fainter with successive reflections. The apparent infinity is an optical effect; the sense of a universe within it is my association.
03 / A cinematic echo
In this scene from Peter Brook’s The Mahabharata, Arjuna describes his journey to Indra: luminous worlds, fiery spheres, and music in an immense space. I place it beside the cube as a cinematic echo of its apparent depth.
The conversation also concerns a weapon and Karna’s disbelief. Arjuna’s journey and the jeweled net are separate stories, brought together here through their imagery of light.
04 / Light, in passing
My montage moves from a rainbow and woodland to the mirrored lights and the night outside. Here is the complete sequence, with its original sound.
The cube ends. The reflections draw the eye further.
Beyond the glass, another night sky.