{"product_id":"earthly-beings","title":"Earthly Beings","description":"\u003ch3\u003eKala Mandala Art \u0026amp; Research\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEarthly Beings\u003c\/strong\u003e, a.k.a.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThere Is a Severe Lack of Southeast Asian Fantasy Visuals–Part Two\u003c\/em\u003e, is a collection of selected illustrations (black and white only) from 2024. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlongside these illustrations, researcher\/writer\/collaborator Elizabeth Gimbad writes about interesting Southeast Asian objects such as barkcloth textiles and blowpipes and their components.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis art zine was created to help folks imagine a Southeast Asian space.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI also wrote something about the name of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKala Mandala\u003c\/strong\u003e and how it informs my process:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout the Name\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMandala: Form and framework\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn their most basic physical form, mandalas are shapes, motifs or figures commonly configured in a geometric and concentric manner. Their centre is the most important or sacred part of the motif.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA mandala can be a ritual tool, a spiritual aid, a representation of cosmology, or a sacred space.Mandalas can be art or represent all of the above, all at once.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the 4th century BCE treatise,\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eArthashastra\u003c\/em\u003e, polymath Kautilya used the Mandala or Rajamandala (circle of kings) as a framework for imaging foreign relations. Kautilya posited that your neighbour is a natural enemy, while your neighbour's enemy is a natural friend; thus forming concentric circles of alternating friends and enemies radiating from your centre.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eHistory, Culture, and Region in Southeast Asian Perspectives\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(1982), historian O.W. Wolters further developed the mandala framework to describe the various polities of ancient Southeast Asia. In contrast to the conventional idea of a state characterised by unified bureaucracy and territorial borders, the mandala is characterised by a polity without fixed borders. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWithin Wolters’ framework, smaller rulers look towards the centre — the most powerful ruler, often men (or women) of prowess — for security. The centre's power is maintained by all manner of relationships, cultivated through a mix of diplomacy, magic, and coercion. The mandala’s centre of power is dominant; however, each village, town, kingdom, and ruler possesses their own focal centre, creating a mandala from multiple mandalas. Each individual mandala looks out for themselves, paying tribute to overlapping centres of power, or even usurping power over the larger mandala.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mandala is an unstable, organic and dynamic space.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOn Making Fantasy Mandalas\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI feel that in many fantasy worlds, there is a taxonomic approach to world building: Categorical checklists of factions, races, or gods, closely paralleling the conventional modern ethno-nationalist state and its rigid categories of identities and racial narratives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI find more kinship with the aforementioned mandala model; specifically with their emphasis\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eon the centre, and how influence radiates out in an organic and personal manner.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy personal approach to fantasy worldbuilding is as follows: I begin with a germ of an idea,\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ereinforcing its centre, before slowly pushing outwards, exploring its consequences and effects on food, art, magic, anything and everything to do with life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mandala expands until I am satisfied, or my editors and collaborators are satisfied, or I hit a page count.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen I move on to another settlement, another adventure, another mandala.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHopefully someday, these mandalas will overlap, creating a world that feels, smells and tastes like fantasy Southeast Asia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is Kala?\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKala is a Sanskrit term.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt can be Art.\u003cbr\u003eIt can mean Time, of which there is a deity of time, central to Southeast Asian mythology.\u003cbr\u003eIt can also mean Black, of which its feminine form is Kali: The black goddess who is also a deity of time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArt of Mandalas? Okay.\u003cbr\u003eTime of Mandalas? Good.\u003cbr\u003eBlack Mandala? Punk.\u003cbr\u003eThe ambiguity of which it is? Yes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is my Kala Mandala.\u003cbr\u003e—Munkao\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpecifications: 40 pages, A5 size  (148 x 210 mm or 5.83 x 8.27 inches) \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eWant more? Check out the entire \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/plusoneexp.com\/collections\/kala-mandala\"\u003eKala Mandala Collection\u003c\/a\u003e!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Munkao","offers":[{"title":"Print + PDF","offer_id":47978439344350,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital Only","offer_id":47978439377118,"sku":null,"price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0070\/1454\/7583\/files\/EB1.jpg?v=1773334232","url":"https:\/\/plusoneexp.com\/products\/earthly-beings","provider":"Plus One Experience","version":"1.0","type":"link"}