Ascent

2014
Upper Mustang, Nepal

These maps represent passage through the sacred geographies of Nepal’s Upper Mustang along the Kali Gandaki river in 2014. Each diagram represents a village surrounded by the circular boundaries of its own sacred realm. These are manifested in the material world by a series of sacred infrastructures such as chhorten (stupa). These chhortens serve multiple purposes, many invoking the protection of deities and guarding against malignant spirits.

In Upper Mustang, chhorten are made from stone and adobe and painted with clay pigments. Each village has a unique color palette formed by the local avaibility of these pigments. In each map, the circlular boundary of the village sacred realm is colored with the village palette.