“Compassion” by #ReimagineRubin artist Jasmine Rajbhandari is inspired by the Panchadan Festival, a Buddhist festival observed by Bajrayana Buddhists, and the global issue of war. Listen as the artist expands on the importance of art to herself and to society. The painting features the five Dipamkara Buddha statues of the festival reimagined as compassionate beings helping women and children suffering from war. They provide oxygen cylinders, food, blessings, prosthetic legs, and water. Seemingly absent from the image are men, perhaps suggesting that they are the invisible perpetrators of the injustices. On the right is a big tree of life, where monkeys play, birds and squirrels eat ripe fruit, and Nagraja and Nagin enjoy themselves, signifying the normalization of life for those unaffected by the tragedies of war. The artist’s expressive style draws out the human suffering embedded within her narratives, evoking emotions and cultivating compassion in the viewer. She incorporates ...