Lee Mingwei
Taiwan/United States b.1964

Bodhi Tree Project 2006
Living installation
Bodhi tree, marble seats
(designed by Lee Mingwei; carved by Paul Stumkat, Queensland)
Commissioned by the Queensland Government for the Millennium Arts Project, Queensland Cultural Centre, Bodhi Tree Lawn, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
Photograph: Chloë Callistemon, QAGOMA

The Bodhi tree’s story starts approximately 2500 years ago in a town now known as Bodh Gaya in northern India, where the young prince Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment under a fig tree. He became known as ‘Buddha’ and the sacred tree took the name ‘Bodhi’, meaning ‘awakening’. Following the death of Buddha, a sapling from the holy tree was taken to Sri Lanka and planted in the city of Anuradhapura in 249 BCE. It was named Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi and is one of the most sacred and oldest living trees in the world.

In the early 2000s, Taiwanese-born artist Lee Mingwei approached Raja Maha Temple, the custodian of the ancient tree. After considerable consultation, the temple’s head priest gave the artist his blessing to take a cutting from the tree and for it to be planted at Kurilpa Point, the site of GOMA, to mark the inauguration of the Gallery. Over a period of nearly 15 years, the small sapling has grown into a prominent natural landmark. Today the tree is a unique living artwork, creating a quiet canopy for gathering underneath, and a site for contemplation.