Unesco Hold Expo on Borobudur Temple: Yogyakarta, Central Java

Indonesia`s Cultural and Tourism Ministry and The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) organized a visual art exhibition entitled `The Thousand Mysteries of Borobudur` in Yogyakarta. The expo displays various paintings, statues, graphics, photography, and videos depicting the Borobudur Temple. Visitors of the exhibition could get a picture about the Borobudur Temple in the past, before and after the restoration.

“This expo marks the revival of Borobudur through visual art performances from various works of arts,” Jogja Gallery Curator Mikke Susanto said when opening the exhibition at the Jogja Gallery, here late Friday as reported in the Antara News.

“The headline of this expo is a statue called `Unfinished Buddha`, which is a collection of the Borobudur Conservation Center,” he said.

Among paintings on the Borobudur Temple being displayed in the exhibition included `Borobudur` by Indonesian most famous painter Affandi, `The State of Meditation` by Srihadi Soedarsono, and `The Crack Greatest of Borobudur` by IGN Hening Swasono.

A number of posters produced by UNESCO on the restoration process of the Borobudur Temple, were also shown in the expo.

“At least 29 artists participate in the expo,” he said.

The exhibition will last from April 20 to May 9, 2007, at the Jogja Gallery, Yogyakarta northern square.

Borobudur Temple is one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world. This colossal relic of Borobudur Temple was built by Sailendra dynasty between 750 and 842 AD; 300 years before Cambodia`s Angkor Wat, 400 years before work had begun on the great European cathedrals.

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles revealed Borobudur Temple in 1814.

He found the temple in ruin condition and ordered that the site be cleared of undergrowth and thoroughly surveyed. The massive restoration project began from 1905 to 1910 led by Dr. Tb. van Erp. With the help of UNESCO, the second restoration to rescue Borobudur was carried out from August 1913 to 1983.