the Four Noble Truths, 2025

rehydrated acrylic, India ink and conte on upcycled canvas, framed in discarded ornament

9” x 11”

the first teaching that the Buddha offered to his disciples is usually cited as having been the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: catvāryāryasatyāni), believed by the Buddha to be the foundation to life and vital to believe in order to access enlightenment. These truths are firstly unease, the impermanence of mortal life and the inevitability of suffering (sukha), a subsequent longing for and attachment to this impermanence and suffering (samudaya) cessating of suffering through containing or severing attachment desires (nirodha) which ushers the truth-seer towards the the eightfold path (marga) followed to cessate attachment and subsequently release oneself from suffering. A practicing Buddhist for nine years, Mikell painted this work in an effort to visualise her personal relationship to these truths, while intending to make space for how other Buddhists might relate to them both in their own religious practices and in their lives broadly. 

consistent with Mikell’s practice, this piece is composed entirely of repurposed materials diverted from cycles of disuse, in an effort to mitigate industry waste. As a result, imperfections to the surfaces of frames and canvases are to be expected. Please contact the artist with further inquiries about production.