Sokushinbutsu Tile

A bas-relief tile of the Sokushinbutsu skeleton, cast in my studio in Chiang Mai. The entire technique is built around layering. Every element sits at a slightly different height, creating depth within less than a quarter of an inch. The skeleton comes forward, behind it the large fan of folds, then the clouds, and finally the flat surface of the tile. Tiles were sculpted this way in the 1800s, and the craft has mostly disappeared since. Read how they are made