EVOLVING FAITH

By Tarun Nagesh

'Rising Voices' September 2025

'Evolving faith' is the final thematic section in 'Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific' (2026–27), a landmark collaboration between the V&A, London, and QAGOMA, Brisbane.

Spirituality and systems of faith continue to have a notable presence in art across the Asia Pacific region, as religious principles, iconographies, artistic and architectural traditions are continually drawn upon for creativity. While calling on their faith to shape responses to the contemporary world, artists also question relationships between the sacred and the secular, examining how religion interacts with systems of power and the everyday.

Buddhism, in particular, continues to influence contemporary art from East and South-East Asia. Thai artist Montien Boonma was a pioneer in combining Buddhist principles with experimental approaches, encapsulated in his iconic installation Lotus sound. The techniques of Buddhist painting traditions are also re-envisioned by practitioners of Mongol zurag (Mongolian painting), while Takahiro Iwasaki reimagines a monument and the power of its image in Japan today.

An installation view of a wooden sculpture taking the form of a Japanese temple, doubled as if in reflection; two people view the work

Takahiro Iwasaki / Japan b.1975 / Reflection Model (Perfect Bliss) 2010–12, installed for 'Rising Voices' at V&A South Kensington, London, May 2026 / Japanese Cypress / The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art. Purchased 2013 with funds from Michael Sidney Myer through the QAG Foundation / © Takahiro Iwasaki / Photograph: David Parry / Image courtesy: V&A South Kensington