Spanning the Family and Community Services building at 70 metres long, this artwork takes its inspiration from the Ādittapariyāya Sutta or known as the Fire Sermon, a concept of liberation in Buddhism. The artwork takes into consideration the artist's experiences during the Black Summer bushfires, the apocalyptic connotations of fire, and yet the contemplative cycle of clarity and rebirth.
‘Spinning the Fire Sutra I’ is inspired by the Ādittapariyāya Sutta (Pali, “Fire Sermon Discourse”), a discourse from the Pali Canon popularly known as the Fire Sermon. In this discourse, the Buddha preaches about achieving liberation from suffering through detachment from the five senses and mind.
The motion of spinning fire is evoked by the artwork’s repeating pattern of black and white concentric circles that engulf the entire wall, accented by blue, red and yellow spinning perspex discs.
The enormous scope of the artwork means that a viewer is always taking it in from an angle, creating space for different perspectives and interpretations.
Despite its serious subject matter, the bright and eccentric ‘Spinning the Fire Sutra I’ elicits a curious and optimistic response from viewers. Vongpoothorn hopes that the artwork will offer a site of reflection, where people will stop for a moment and take time to contemplate cycles of movement, destruction, clarity and rebirth in their own lives.
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