Tuan Andrew Nguyen The Light that Shines Through the Universe (tabletop edition), 2026

Tuan Andrew Nguyen's The Light That Shines Through the Universe (tabletop edition) is a small work that pays homage to the Bamiyan Buddhas of Himalayan Afghanistan. A larger, 27-foot-tall, version of the sculpture was commissioned by the High Line in New York City in 2026.

The sculpture combines both the taller Western and older Eastern reliefs known as the Bamiyan Buddhas. To this form Nguyen added two prosthetic-like brass hands that rest on silver stilts. The hands are cast from melted-down brass artillery shells and positioned into mudras, i.e. ritual gestures that signify “fearlessness” and “compassion.”